


A Touch of Death

by nighttjar



Category: Ao no Exorcist | Blue Exorcist
Genre: AU - Rin is a member of the Illuminati, Alternate Universe, BAMF Okumura Rin, BAMF Shima Renzou, Espionage, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Renzou is also a dork, Rin is a dork, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-04
Updated: 2018-08-27
Packaged: 2019-02-28 06:33:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 24,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13265721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nighttjar/pseuds/nighttjar
Summary: In a scenario where Rin's body is a lot more similar to Satan's existence. Though not as severely as his father, from birth Rin's flames have been affecting his own body as well as anything existing within Assiah. It was because of this that the child was collected by the Illuminati and experimented on. Despite his body continuously breaking down, Rin remained alive and well in Assiah, making Lucifer believe that the secret behind making a suitable vessel for their shared father lies within the boy.Trained and disguised, Rin is sent off to True Cross Academy together with Shima Renzou in order to investigate the Vatican's failed experiments in hope to advance the Illuminati's agenda.





	1. Prologue: Illuminati Upbringing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter the experiments, punishments and conditioning of Rin growing up in the Illuminati are described.
> 
> To be safe, I'm just putting it ot there.
> 
> Warning! The scenes described in this chapter fall under child abuse and child neglect!

Lucifer bent down at the waist and looked closely at his newly born sibling. The child was burning and crying hysterically. Lucifer watched in distant fascination as he watched the burns form and fade on the boy's body. Injuries both caused and healed by the blue flames the child had inherited from its father.

"Rin." Lucifer whispered the name, internally repeating it over again and again, but it didn't resonate within him at all. He was vaguely disappointed the agents hadn't been able to collect the twin as well, who was now in the possession of the Paladin, but he supposed it was nothing worth mourning. Tentatively he reached out and cradled the baby's chubby cheeks in his hands, ignoring the heat and smell of his own burning skin.

That would prove to be annoying in the long run.

Lucifer was thankful for his own rapid regeneration and slowly brought the child closer to his bare chest, exposed for the sake of the many wires monitoring his deteriorating condition.

The child refused to hold back its cries and Lucifer wondered briefly if its ears properly functioned. Beyond the holy flames it looked human without a doubt. He supposed that would change as it matured and would be able to show more of its demonic heritage.

It sure was determined to get its message across, however.

It couldn't be helped. After all, it was hurting and it was demanding for that to stop. Though, Lucifer couldn't do a thing to help it. He absentmindedly rocked it. He pondered a short while on what to do. Lucifer knew of the benefit of keeping the child, it could prove to be beneficial to his goals, perhaps become an asset as well, if it survived. And it was family, Lucifer thought vaguely as he looked down at it.

Its eyes were a ferocious blue, rimmed red because it has been crying for hours now. He wondered if the colour would remain to be like that. If so, it would need to be disguised for missions in the future, it stood out too much otherwise.

"Ah."

It had stopped shrieking and started miserably whimpering, hiccups in-between pressing wails. Lucifer realised he had to release the child now. His regeneration was lessening and he noted how the burns were starting to hurt him.

He put it down on the cold floor, and it started crying again.

After Lucifer had pressed the button to call for a member to take the child away, he marvelled at his now charcoal-burned fingers and the bloodied marks it had left behind.

"Troublesome."

Lucifer didn't often see the child over the years, aside from watching it being tested and experimented on from the windows of the labs. He read the results and made suggestions, but otherwise stayed clear of its development. It would not yet remember a lot, anyway, and Lucifer had enough to concern himself with.

Five years had passed after its arrival when the doors to his room were opened and the wandering child peaked inside.

Lucifer sat on the floor, silently reading reports and briefings. He discarded them in favour of looking at the child. As he had expected, it had grown demonic features in time. Its ears had gotten bigger and stood out from the sides. He traced what little he could see and found its black tail, bathing in blue fire. What was visible of its body was covered in charred skin spots. Healing and reopening. It was uncomfortable to watch. The tail, in particular. Lucifer remembered reading about how it had caused major discomfort for the child. It had been logical: after all, it had never been burned before and that sensitivity combined with the appendage's natural frailty was bound to be horrendous.

It had started to deal with it eventually, however, like it had to with everything else.

It waited outside, staring timidly at him. Lucifer waved it over and it slowly approached, sitting in front of Lucifer.

So its eyes had stayed blue. In contrast, the edges of its pupils were a bright red. Lucifer did not know why this was significant, but felt it was important to note nonetheless.

Lucifer averted his eyes and continued his reading. The child remained seated and watched intently, the blue flames clawing remorselessly at him all the while. From the corner of his vision Lucifer saw that the child wanted his attention. He supposed that, too, was a given. The child had been exposed to various auras of demons as well as human Illuminati members over the years, but Lucifer was on a whole other level. It must be a novelty for the child, and those were always so very curious.

He looked back up. "Your tail. When you get clothing, you must hide it."

The child titled its head. It recognised a command, but not what it meant. Its expression turned distressed then. It obviously realised it had failed something.

That was good. It had awareness.

Lucifer looked away again. "It would seem you reacted terribly to exorcist-blessed water, of any kind."

It listened as Lucifer explained, if only because Lucifer had an oppressive air, or because that was all it knew how to do.

Lucifer thought the latter would be a waste of potential. Again, he urged the child to come closer, which it did. Eventually, it sat quietly next to Lucifer, the blue flames close enough to lightly singe him here and there. Lucifer knew the child wouldn't be able to understand what he explained or showed to him, but it was better than to have it become like Astaroth or Amaimon.

Oh. Lucifer had nearly forgotten that the child was his little brother.

The doors were opened once more, by scientists profoundly showing courtesies and begging forgiveness. They urged the child to come back with them.

It stood up and took a few unsteady steps, but it looked back, as if asking for confirmation from Lucifer.

Good.

Lucifer was more invested with the child after that. He noticed how the scientists would refer to it by its name, noting how the child had reacted positively towards it. That was fine by Lucifer, so he allowed it.

The child was strong for having such a frail body. It had physically become quite insensitive and barely reacted to stimulants that used to send it into spiralling hysteria. It used the flames efficiently, easily getting rid of the zombies like it was dismissing a fly. Higher class demons, when they were capable of capturing any, seemed to act naturally protective over it.

Because he's a fledgling, the scientists had said unnecessarily, because the demons' instinct is telling them that the child is weak and still needs to grow.

If Lucifer willed it, then the demons came to understand that the child wasn't the harmless creature they had presumed it to be.

The child had become fascinated by Lucifer, happily giggling when it noticed the demon King. It never talked, however, and Lucifer heard some scientists whisper how that was worrying.

Lucifer decided to take the child with him to his room because of that. It had finally gained a spec of control over its destructiveness over time, as it was now capable of not immediately burning everything in close proximity to ashes. This allowed it to sleep on a bed for the first time in its life, for a short while. For a few hours on special days it wore baggy pants and a sweater with a smiley face on it, the latter in which he hid its tail in, like Lucifer had told it to years ago.

Lucifer would explain to the child about his mission, about demons, humans, Assiah and Gehenna, and it would listen carefully.

Whilst offering the child knowledge, Lucifer began to notice certain things. The child would avoid some scientists and openly babble nonsensically at others. Lucifer made changes in staff accordingly wherever he saw fit.

He also realised the child had a startling obsession with food. It lost focus during eating or when it was newly delivered. Lucifer took it with him to the kitchen sometimes, quietly reading in the corner whilst the agents on duty flustered around the child.

Rin was popular amongst them, especially after it finally started talking.

Its first words were a slurred: "yes, Commander," when Lucifer instructed it to change its stance during training.

That was good, but strangely enough not entirely to Lucifer's liking.

The child was still a fire hazard, occasionally setting aflame whatever it was wearing or sleeping on, and its skin was never spared the mistreatment, still covered in blisters that would never scar. At times the child couldn't rest through the pain and Lucifer would tutor it until it fell asleep again Lucifer.

Lucifer himself was also getting used to the flames, something he hadn’t anticipated to happen. The burns healed quicker and he was now capable of largely ignoring the heat.

The child had been ecstatic upon understanding its flames were identical to their shared father. Initially it had confused Rin, but asking Lucifer for stories about his siblings and their kin and listening to those became a hobby of the child's soon thereafter.

However, nothing came close to cooking and baking. After experiments, tests and training the boy started to disappear into the kitchen, emerging with meals or sweets, of which he promptly gave a piece to Lucifer first before distributing to whoever he stumbled upon in the hallways, human or demon, shoving it through the barriers for them to eat. It rarely saved a final crumb for itself.

The last shred of the normal member-leader dynamic between Lucifer and the child disappeared when the boy had turned eleven years old. It had looked troubled and flustered when it stood in front of Lucifer after receiving its congratulations.

Lucifer lowered himself to Rin's level and titled his head in wait for whatever was to come.

Rin swallowed and seemed to make up its mind when it stretched its arms and very lightly hugged Lucifer. He stuttered a quick "thank you, big brother," before dashing away, most likely straight towards the kitchen to hide.

Lucifer had collected himself and returned to his documents.

The change was an improvement.

Rin began to show some assertiveness ever since he had been allowed to roam about unsupervised. He started to learn when he could or couldn't enter certain rooms, when exactly he had to show up for tests and training, it all made it easier for him to avoid punishments. 

Whenever he had acted out as a child the scientists would up the harshness of the experiments, before ultimately leaving the child to cry in his windowed room. Rin had adapted and Lucifer began to give him small assignments. He asked him to write reports on other test-subjects, evaluate agents and share any valuable insights he had on demonic species. The latter he started doing with more enthusiasm every passing month. 

Especially the Nine Tailed Fox Spirit was dear to the child. Whenever the host was released after another failed experiment Rin would sneak into its chamber and chat it up. Lucifer asked after his fascination and Rin told him he simply thought the host looked like a nice lady. The spirit also appeared calmer when Rin was near, at one point desperately wailing how Rin looked like "her treasure". 

Rin would talk to the spirit, consoling it with a polite smile. 

Lucifer decided to humour the child and allowed him to do as he pleased.

Rin's flammable clothing and furniture was eventually replaced with a specially crafted material that lasted longer. He could now permanently sleep and sit on a bed that would previously only last an hour or two before crumbling to ash, and he also now had a set of neat clothing for meetings and a casual set Rin had helped design. It was goofy and a tad childish, but Rin seemed to enjoy it. 

When he was thirteen Lucifer started sending Rin on missions together with other agents to remote locations, to give him some field-experience. Rin managed to attain the affection of various members, who started bringing him stuff from cities, like manga, CDs, films and cookbooks. Through it all Lucifer had instructed Rin to ensure that these people were to never look down on him, at which Rin had laughed bitterly, as if the thought was impossible. 

Rin was right in that aspect. The members knew who he was and always treated him with respect, some being actively kind when they realised how approachable he was.

Lucifer knew Rin craved physical contact, which Lucifer was unwilling to regularly provide and others plainly unable to withstand the flames. Michael Gedouin had tried to weaken his powers via various injections and surgeries, but it all failed, to his own despair. 

It was through his experiments on the Nine Tailed Fox Spirit that Michael came with the idea of having Rin possess another vessel, one that was artificially created by the Illuminati. Lucifer recalled previous tempering in that domain and ordered for it be attempted. 

Rin was very apprehensive at first but had cried when he had possessed another body for a mere minute before being thrown back into his own. When asked to explain his behaviour Rin simply sniffled that "it didn't hurt" and then promptly never mentioned it again. 

At night, despite being now fourteen years old, Rin would sneak into Lucifer's private chambers in search for some company in the form of the Commander. He'd ask for Lucifer to put on a film to watch together and often brought snacks for them to eat. More often than not Lucifer refused him, but during the rare nights he did enable him, "Commander" turned to "big brother" and Rin would be content to just sit with him, even when Lucifer himself was often still absorbed in his work. 

Those were Rin's favourite moments. 

Eventually, shortly after Rin turned fifteen years old, the experiments succeeded. Michael got the promotion and praise he longed for from Lucifer and was thus more than pleased with his accomplishment. Rin had taken control over a body that would not show the blue flames nor burn right away. However, the body would decay rather quickly when Rin used his flames for combat and he would occasionally cough up blood, but Rin was capable enough to use it to push the gimmick of a sickly teenager.

Rin had also admitted to Lucifer in private how it made him happy to resemble his brother a bit more like this. 

The body they had created for him was very similar to his own natural appearance, though his eyes were now a duller shade of blue and the red was completely gone. They cut the hair of the body shorter, so it could curl a bit at the ends and better hide the still slightly pointed ears. They had tried to make those as human as possible, as well as the teeth that appeared canine-like, but the features would sharpen and a tail sticking out like a sore thumb appeared the second Rin possessed it. Rin had dramatically faked an apology for the inconvenience, to Michael's annoyance. 

Rin started using it for missions, leaving his own body in a bulled-proof glass container filled with holy water to weaken it and its flames. Rin would distantly be aware of his demon heart and actual body being in pain, but such a thing was trivial to his newfound burns-free existence. He entered towns for the first time in his life. He wouldn't shut up about it when he returned, and even continued to babble to Lucifer through the doors the Commander had closed off for an illusion of serenity.  

The results were beneficial to the Illuminati as a whole as well, as Lucifer had hoped Rin's arrival would be. The scientists and doctors had developed better treatment for Lucifer's own vessel, slowing down the decay considerable. Michael had had a hit of inspiration and had started working on some sort of mask he would use for his project surrounding the Nine Tailed Fox Spirit. 

Lucifer was overall pleased, and satisfied with Rin's progress in his intelligence and expanding prowess. 

It was for that reason he called Rin to him for an official assignment. 

Rin appeared in his vessel and uniform, sided by the Guard Commander, and formally greeted his Commander, as was expected of every Illuminati member. Lucifer narrowed his eyes and informed Rin of a human boy that would soon join their ranks. He explained that the teenager was the tamer of Yamantaka and would serve as a double agent at the True Cross Order. The mission was to cooperate with him and keep an eye on the teen. 

"You will go as Satou Rin and enrol in True Cross Academy as well as its cram school. Separately, which will remain a secret to Shima Renzou, I want you to investigate Mephisto Pheles and the Vatican’s activities prior to the Blue Night as well as those in contemporary times. I needn't remind you of the importance of your cover, details of which you will discuss with Shima Renzou immediately hereafter."

Rin grinned. “Bellum fatum vita mori, right? Sounds good." After which he promptly skipped around and left with a lazy mock-salute, immediately heading towards the common briefing area, enthusiastic to meet his new  _friend_. He was soon followed by the Guard Commander, who lightly bowed to Lucifer before she also turned her back to her leader.

Left in solitude, Lucifer allowed himself a moment to reflect on his actions as Commander-in-Chief to the Illuminati. His mind wandered to Rin, the little brother and valuable asset, and he distantly wondered when exactly he had begun to think of the child as someone he considered close to him on a personal level.

Whenever it was, he decided it was not entirely unwelcome to his vision of a one truly equal and united world. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next up, Rin meets Renzou. Spy jokes and memes ensue. 
> 
> I chose the name Satou as a cover for Rin, as it is Japan's current most common family name. And if you do not wish to stand out, that is the sort of thing you go for. Rin is common enough as a given name as well, and I am loathe to change that anyway. 
> 
> I you enjoyed this chapter/prologue, be sure to leave a kudo/comment or bookmark, I really appreciate and it helps me to stay motivated to continue this story.


	2. Yo, it's nice to meet you.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rin meets Renzou, and things are bit shaky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was supposed to go up yesterday but forgot due to exams, my bad. It's reason as for why I haven't replied properly, yet, ai ai... From now on dialogue is going to be a thing. Not my favourite thing, but a thing.

The Guardian Commander led Rin through the doors with steady and broad steps, echoing through the empty room, brightly lit with white LED. Rin followed, ducking into the room, all whilst smiling brightly and with a slight curve to his posture.

His eyes fell on the massive table in the middle of the room. A guy around Rin's age, droopy-eyed with short, dark brown hair, sat there, his legs crossed and a blank look on his face. He looked up when the duo walked in and cheerfully raised his hand in greeting.

"Yo," His voice was pleasant and, credit given where credit is due, he seemed only a bit on the tense side of appearing approachable. "I'm Shima Renzou." He stood up, grinning casually. He carried a confident swagger, but it made Rin stagger momentarily. Cold. He didn't like that.

On the table in front of the guy was the folded pile of an Illuminati uniform, identical to the one Rin was currently wearing. Renzou must have stared at it for a while if the whole room was already empty and the Guardian Commander had had the time to come and collect him. Perhaps Renzou had only just been informed about his upcoming mission.

Rin had to wonder if whether or not the guy had been nervous under the pressure and glaring of the board. He had been, when he had been consciously presented to everyone for the first time.

Rin walked towards him, closing the distance between them, all whilst making sure he studied every detail of this Shima Renzou. The modern clothing, the sway to the side, unequal distribution of weight on his legs and a carefree expression that looked a bit too pale, now that Rin stood in front of him.

Renzou took an awkward step back, standing a bit closer to the golden staff positioned to lean against the long table. "Uh."

Briefly, Rin wondered just how much of that stumbling around was an act. He noticed how neither of them had extended their hand for a greeting. This was a bad start, and Rin could already feel the Guardian Commander’s glare in the back of his head, reprimanding him.

Renzou must have picked on it, he looked a bit embarrassed by his flailing and his cheeks tinted a light red.

Rin blinked, pointed at the guy and laughed freely, his teeth flashing like he always does, gripping his stomach with his remaining arm. "What's with that? You were acting all cool just a second ago," Rin grinned mockingly and waved his hands downwards, purposefully turning himself to fully face Renzou. Lucifer had drilled him on looking personable, how to stand, how to move. "But now look at ya, all chicken."

In the back, Rin could have sworn he heard a displeased sigh.

The golden staff must be the teen's weapon, judging by how Renzou unconsciously seemed to lean in its direction. It had, most likely, already been looked over and approved of during his examination and interview.

Rin hummed. So Yamantaka was summoned using that. He traced the K'rik with a critical eye, looking for any form of tear or wear and found it undamaged.

It didn't look right to Rin.

He could not accurately place the feeling but he knew that he wanted the staff to have been damaged in one way or another, for some reason.

Renzou was taken aback, a look of shock stuck on his face. Then he snorted out the ugliest laugh imaginable, his nose diagonally contorting in the process. "Oh man, you're not what I was expecting."

Oh. Rin’s eyes widened. He knew it was common, new members arrived every so often, after all, and he’d like to say he’s well-travelled. But still. It’s odd coming from someone like Renzou, right?

He moved his hands to his hips, tone curious. "What's that?"

Renzou hastily brought his hands in front of his face in apology, and stammered in-between giggles he tried but failed to silence: "No, no! I meant that-"

"You speak in Kansai-ben?" It was almost a whisper, the way Rin said it.

Renzou sputtered to a halt. "Eh?" He took another surprised step back, insulted. "Why do you sound so offended by it? Wha- your face!" He frantically waved his arms around whilst yelling. "You actually look like you're disgusted! What's wrong with my accent?"

Rin huffed, angrily tapping the floor with his foot. "It sounds weird! You don't look like a yakuza." As if that should have been obvious. In every manga he’s read that’s what the accent was attributed to those types, and whilst Rin knew it was a stereotype, he had unconsciously associated the two. It made him kind of sad. "And besides, how would you even know by my face that I'm disgusted? You don't know me."

Renzou screeched, his voice rising in volume to go above Rin's, interrupting him. "My accent is perfectly normal!” His eyes twitched. “I expected you to be the keigo type, actually.” He snickered, already passed the slip-up. “Your face is so telling, are you even a spy?"

Rin rolled his eyes. "Normal where exactly? Which region, which prefecture, which city?" He pointed his thumb to his chest, sticking his tongue out. "And I have more experience than you, I'm sure!"

"What are you, a child?" Renzou shook his head, a defeated sigh escaping him. "I'm from the Myōō Dharani in Kyoto."

"Wha-" Rin paused, a dreamy smile breaking through his indignant air. "I've always wanted to go there."

Renzou paled. "Seriously?" He looked like he was about to cry, overwhelmed. "There's nothing but temples there."

Completely serious, Rin looked him dead in the eye. "There's the Kyoto Tower," he said.

"That's so touristy!" Renzou let out a nonsensical noise.

Rin looked riled up, as if personally offended. "Yeah, I'm a tourist! Got a problem with that? And don't you complain about temples, yer a monk, aren’t you?" Rin pouted. “A bad one,” he mouthed. He then turned around, looking for confirmation from the Guardian Commander. "Right, Homare? Oh." He paused. "She left."

Renzou brought his hands to his hair and scratched aggressively. "What the Hell?" He let out a breathy laugh. "She really did leave you here with me."

Rin stopped fooling around, happy enough with the casual mood he partially helped creating. Renzou had played along perfectly, and he seemed to be aware of it as well. Honestly, why did that guy know how to work around people so well?

Rin was silently and carefully observing the guy in front of him, who was keeping his expression light and joyous. Was this guy really such a talented tamer, though?

Rin agreed that tamers were essential to the Illuminati, but surely they were not this desperate to send a rookie on such an important mission? He himself wasn't even that experienced either. Internally he sighed, Rin wished he knew what the Commander was thinking at times like these.

He supposed he should be glad that the guy was sociable at the very least. Renzou responded well to his teasing and may prove to accurately convey the air of natural born friendship to their soon to be peers.

Or maybe they could actually be friends?

He hastily pushed the thought aside, groaning inwardly. The Commander left him to deal with a task, and it was about time to get to work.

Rin sat down at the table, resigning himself to serious topics, and Renzou hurriedly doing the same. Rin casually leaned on his arm and tapped the table. "I know why the Commander saw fit to assign you to this mission, but I'm sure you can understand my initial hesitation. I don't know you and then there's the question of your loyalty." He sifted his position so he was turned to his co-worker. "I don't tend to go by others' opinions alone. I could go on my own to the Order and we would never know the difference in result. Tell me, why exactly are you as useful as everyone here wants me to believe?"

Renzou visibly swallowed, and sheepishly smiled. "I'm to be a double agent, don't you know? I'm already closer to Mephisto Pheles and the higher-ups then you could achieve in so little time. I'm good to keep around." He chuckled weakly. "And don't pretend you don't like me."

Rin exhaled, rolling his eyes with a cheeky grin. So that's how it was. Renzou's skill was hidden beneath his amiable persona. It was all he had to do. He was capable of stabbing others in their backs because his friendship meant nothing but amusement for him, a connection he trusted himself to build with anyone and anywhere.

It worried Rin a bit.

He himself was the type to easily get attached to people who showed him any kindness. Rin already knew how difficult it would be for him to make sure to remember every day that Renzou was a member he needed to keep an eye on. An asset. Nothing more, but also nothing less. Rin couldn't allow for Renzou's cover to be blown prematurely, lest the Illuminati risked losing Yamantaka. Not to mention that the fact that Renzou already knew Mephisto before joining the Illuminati just didn’t sit right with Rin.

“We better not lose you then. Yamantaka is a pretty big deal. Don’t get caught.”

Renzou titled his head in amusement. "I've been told you're pretty high up here though, careful not to forget your own importance, mhm'kay?"

Rin shrugged. It didn't matter. Even if his cover was blown and he was captured, all he had to do was give in to the pull his body was exerting nonstop and return to his demon heart to the Illuminati headquarters in Inari. They would lose the vessel, but it wouldn't last long without the Rin to sustain it or with the correct tools. The Vatican wouldn't be able to research it properly with its rapid corrosive materials.

Besides, they were already working on a spare for Rin anyway. It wouldn't be too great a loss for him personally.

Aside from the risk of his identity being revealed and the major loss of potential intel for the Illuminati, Rin had nothing to worry about if he were caught.

Renzou was different.

Yamantaka was only one of the two reasons at max that Renzou wasn't replaceable to the Illuminati. Rin didn't doubt Renzou knew that, and the guy was equally disposable to the Myōō Dharani as well as to the True Cross Order in the future.

That must be a highly uncomfortable position to be in. Rin didn't envy him. It, actually, made him feel a bit sorry for the guy.

He knew he shouldn't, but Rin wanted to help Renzou. If Rin was going to help the Commanded build a world for demons and humans together, then surely someone like Renzou deserved to stand with them, supported by the organisation like every other member. Renzou would be able to prove himself, Rin was sure of it.

And that's exactly what Lucifer had warned him about.

Rin hardened his resolve. Once they had succeeded in their mission Rin would talk with the Commander about it, but before that he should refuse to think about it.

He sat back up straight, one arm folded and the other gesturing generally. "We should probably discuss some sort of story, here. I need to stay in contact with you, but we obviously have not met outside of True Cross Academy."

Renzou frowned. "We got along natural enough just now, so it should only take a minimal amount of time to convince our surroundings of our newfound friendship." He winked, using air quotations in the air with his fingers. He paused for a bit before reluctantly continuing: "Maybe there is one problem. Two others of the Myōō Dharani will be going to True Cross. They know me. I suppose you'll need to appease them as well."

Rin smiled coldly. "You can say 'friends', you know?"

Renzou scratched his head sheepishly. "Yeah." He didn’t seem to believe it.

Rin tapped his finger over the table. "So I need these two to like me as well. Think I'll manage?"

Renzou shrugged. "Doesn't really matter. In the end I'm friends with whoever I want, it'll just take longer and it'll be more difficult to tackle me."

"Fair enough," Rin sighed. He clapped his hands together. "I'm not worried. This'll be fun!"

Renzou smiled back, but it appeared to awfully pain him. "I have so many bad feelings about this?"

"Well, stop that then."

Renzou deflated. "Dude."

Rin hummed and casually reached out, bending over Renzou, casually invading his personal space and breaking any illusion of privacy the guy still thought he owned. The Illuminati didn’t work like that, it was about time he realised that.

Rin grabbed the K’rik and sat on Renzou's lap, legs on each side, turned to face its owner.

Renzou shifted back as much as he could in the chair before he froze completely.

Renzou was reminded of back when Mephisto Pheles had arrived at the Myōō Dharani. The man had appeared flamboyant to the absurd, and Renzou had groaned and lied back on the porch in the hot summer weather. He had forced himself to take interest and follow the oddity in order to listen in on the meeting. He'd been pleased enough during it all, even when he was called in to join.

It wasn't until Mephisto had a quick word with him afterwards, that Renzou hesitated for the first time in a very long while. Mephisto had dug his nails in the boy's shoulder and he didn't have to squeeze for Renzou to feel the pressure. "I'm positive you'll do fantastically." Mephisto had winked, but he hadn't smiled like he had been doing the entire time prior to it.

Renzou had felt an icy wind run over his spine and his knees were buckling beneath him. He would have fallen and properly embarrassed himself if Mephisto hadn't retreated and bit him a sudden farewell, waving around his ridiculously pink umbrella.

Renzou had been thankful for the experience not that long after that when he met Lucifer, as he was a bit more prepared for the cold shoulder of a demon.

Now though, he nearly choked on his own spit when he failed to swallow properly, returning his predicament in the present.

Rin was still smiling coolly at him, and the way he handled the K'rik had a playful innocence to it. And yet, Renzou felt like he had made a mistake. He had fallen for the gimmick and he had started to think of Rin as if he was someone normal, a teen who got recruited early like some others were. Like he himself essentially was.

But he had forgotten that Rin wasn't ordinary. Rin was the younger brother of the Commander, of the demon King Lucifer himself.

Rin was a demon and Renzou felt like hitting himself for letting that slip his mind.

Rin's eyes narrowed at that, as if he could read Renzou's thought. "I wonder why you're really here. I'm actually curious, you know?" Rin shrugged and sighed. "That's fine, though, tell me when you're ready. But know I'm here to support you, all right? I'm sure we'll make a great team." Rin smiled.

And Renzou was just glad he finally remembered how to breathe.

Rin got off of Renzou's lap and petted him on his shoulder. Renzou smiled brightly and took back his staff. "I'd all be easier if we were scheduled to share a room."

Rin raised his eyebrow. "That'd be convenient." His eyes lit up. "We could watch Illuminati propaganda films together!"

"There shouldn't be too many cram students," Renzou shrugged, pressing his lips together in an attempt not to laugh. "They always pair those up together." He placed the K’rik back against the table. "What I'm saying is, there is a chance."

"One you blew by mentioning it. There's no wood to kick against here, after all."

"Don't you mean 'knock on wood'?"

"It's not 'kick'?"

"It's not 'kick'."

Rin waved it off. "We'll have to see. You'll probably be paired up with your friends anyway." He swayed happily. "I wonder who I get to meet!"

They didn't really have much more to talk about after that. Their shared mission was only observation, after all.

Rin did manage to ask if Renzou had any allergies and if he had a favourite genre. The guy waved as Rin left cheerfully. They had exchanged phone numbers for convenience and Rin had yelled a quick "see you at school, then, don't let the Guardian Commander kill you!" before he closed the door.

Toudou Homare waited for Rin in the hallway, completely unimpressed by the teen's enthusiasm. Rin happily chatted to the woman about Renzou. “Did you know Renzou likes the Western cuisine? I should read up on that a bit more. I wonder what kind of Western we’re talking about, though.”

The Guardian Commander interrupted him to ask if the two had discussed anything actually worthwhile. She looked like she had the beginnings of a headache, the way she glared at Rin.

Okay, so they really hadn’t discussed anything actually helpful, but Rin smirked all the same. "I know enough for now."

She quite honestly did not seem to care that much and dumped Rin as quickly as she could to still come off as polite, and then she went to do a more important task. She had enough other things to do.

Lucifer was busy when Rin got back to him, in a more comfortable and extravagant chamber this time ‘round, and Rin did try to talk to him about Renzou, but the Commander was once again a brick wall.

Rin sighed in defeat. "Fine. I'll pack my stuff." Lucifer didn't look up and continued writing his letter, true to his image of a tireless leader.

There wasn't a lot for Rin to bring, now that he thought about it. He walked through the corridors, aimlessly, trying to remember if he had ditched his socks somewhere, as he was missing three individual ones of them.

Rin owned a limited amount of clothes so he could just bring everything he had and still be obligated to wash every week. He probably had to deal with wearing the same shirt once in a while, but he'll live.

He pressed his lips in a thin line when he thought about the modified school uniform he was bound to get. Illuminati tech was pretty amazing.

After all, Rin couldn't risk burning his clothing to ashes on accident and have everyone see him.

Have girls see him.

Without clothes.

He paused, and cringed inward with an annoyed and loud groan.

Some members walking hastily through the hallways, only a few steps away from running, spared him some confused looks but quickly hurried on to their destination.

They didn't have the time to actively stare at Rin and wonder why on earth the little brother of the Illuminati's Commander was crouched against the wall in complete silence, hitting his own head against it repeatedly.

Time flew by and Rin phased through it by being absentmindedly tutored by Lucifer on subjects he would also be taught at True Cross Academy. The idea behind it was for Rin to be able to actually write proper reports if he were to go through the program like a breeze. Rin spent the rest of that afternoon openly criticising Lucifer's non-existent sense of humour.

Rin reread some of his favourite manga and picked a few to bring with him, along with some CDs. And if he noticed how some scientists had bought him a couple new releases of either one, then he didn't say a thing. He did cook a grand feast the day before he left, however, and he tackled anyone in close proximity to have a bite, eventually filling the otherwise too large and empty dining hall.

That same night he knocked on Lucifer's door and was surprised when he was allowed in.

His brother was seated on the large, white sofa, all machines detached from his body. Rin cautiously lowered himself next to him, unused to sharing the piece of furniture with anyone. He started the film - an action rom-com - and hesitantly leaned against Lucifer, who passively allowed it.

Rin was completely stiff, the room was somehow quieter than ever before, and he was distracted enough to miss the first half of the film. Slowly when nothing happened and Lucifer didn't get up to leave, he relaxed and slumped more and more into his brother. Rin's eyelids were heavy and his breathing was deepened. It never happened before but Rin let his guard down enough to have a tiny flame break through one of his eyes and singe the skin around it to a tainted pink. It felt like home and the flame died out on its own the second Rin fell asleep, with Lucifer's fingers carefully brushing through his little brother's hair.

The following day was a surreal experience as Rin looked up at his own body, burning weakly inside the container, still injuring itself, still healing.

Rin vaguely thought it was probably weird to say good-bye to your own body.

He had had nightmares about this, mostly about his own face. He felt strangely disoriented and dizzy at times and couldn't get the image of his own slightly opened eyes out of his mind.

Michael had snapped at him, when Rin asked why that had happened. How would he know? He was busy doing something actually important, something that should hurry up and gain the Commander’s praise already.

Rin shouldn't have wasted his time asking Michael.

In the end, Rin decided, he wouldn't miss a lot about Illuminati headquarters. He'd actually be happy to not have to be near Michael and some scientists often anymore, but he supposed he would miss some members, at least. He'd also miss sharing his meals with a lot of people and he'd miss those quiet nights with the Commander.

But he was far more excited for the experience he will gain.

In Lucifer’s room the Guard Commander gave him a salute before he left, which he lazily returned. Maybe, when he got back, he'd feel bold enough to finally go in for a hug after all those years.

Perhaps Rin would be brave and maybe Toudou Homare would scoff and give a reluctant smack on the back.

Yeah. No.

Rin shouldn't be too ambitious just yet.

Lucifer stepped forward and presented a gift to Rin. A sword. The scabbard was made of a dark leather, sturdy and modest. It was scratched and its surface was a bit faded and decoloured on some spots.

Inside was the sword Rin had trained with ever since he had been allowed to wield an actual proper one. He had been given better ones over the years, crafted by the most skilled of the Illuminati, infused with demonic incantations and powers.

Not this one. It was well-made, sure, and wouldn't damage easily, but it was more of a sentimental relic of sorts by now. Lucifer had taken it away when he had given Rin the next one, and Rin hadn't asked to get it back. Honestly, he was surprised Lucifer still had it.

Rin gave a short bow and accepted the sword, letting it hang over his shoulder lazily, glad it had a cord and that he didn’t have to wear it on his hip. "Guess I'm gonna go and become a Knight then!"

Lucifer rested his hand on Rin's arm for a short while. A long while. Oh no.

Rin sniffed dramatically, hoping to break the tension that was slowly killing him. "This is it then? The Commander is giving me my weapon and wishes for my safe return!"

Lucifer blinked, his hair flowing when he tilted his head. "It is your sword. It would be odd to come to learn without a vision for future specialty. A sword would be proper, but do continue to practice with fire arms.” He finally removed his hand. “I am disappointed you did not think of it before I had to."

Rin sputtered, offended. He pouted. "I had other stuff to do."

"Yes," Lucifer blankly stated. "I am glad your comic collection will brighten up your dorm room."

"All right. Who told you that? And was that a joke? I can't tell. It's a lame comment either way."

In the background the Guardian Commander looked away from the two, her gaze unchangingly stern.

Rin huffed one last time and turned towards the exit, waving at members he passed in the halls. Some waved back, but a lot didn’t really seem to get what was going on, even after all the ruckus of the past weeks.

Finally outside there was a car waiting for Rin. It was going to bring him to the nearest station and he'd be on his own to travel to True Cross Academy via public transport.

He didn't look back and when he entered the vehicle, he greeted the chauffeur with his most charming smile. "What could convince you to take me to on a tour before dropping me off?"

Half an hour later Rin begrudgingly slammed the car door shut, and resigned himself to checking the train schedules for the longest and most tedious journey he has ever had to go on thus far. He had been dropped off at the station on at the exact time he had been expected to arrive.

The one thing Rin looked forward to this day was the plane flight. He at least hoped flying on a plane would be better than being in a cramped train without end. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoiler, it's not.
> 
> I'm genuinely surprised by the lovely response I got from the first chapter alone. Thank you so much. You guys are the best, do take care.


	3. First Day Shenanigans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rin finally gets to meet his fellow classmates.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gosh, you lot are amazing.

"It's because of the hydrophobic tails and hydrophilic heads that soap gets the ability to bind and thus clean. Considering oily substances for that matter we can see that -"  
  
Rin was urgently nudged in his side. "What -?"  
  
"Dude, please, please wake up. You will make me look bad."  
  
Rin softly groaned and rubbed his tired eyes. He stayed up all night waiting for the last minute arrival of his roommate that never happened. "Sorry," he whispered back.   
  
The other hesitantly smiled at Rin and then tuned back in for the class.   
  
Rin was sure this had to be more advanced than they were supposed to be getting, but the teacher was apparently more than willing to scare his students on the first day. He also knew that it was working.  
  
Rin leaned back on his arm and slumped back again. He didn't get it. Maybe it was some sort of stress relief for the teacher: to watch his pupils become more panicked by the minute. He looked to his side. The one he was scheduled to sit beside seemed to be equally disturbed as the rest of the class, but, unlike some others, bravely shouldered on with his notes.   
  
Rin wasn't really paying attention, he was bored out of his mind. Lucifer had already taught him this even before he sailed through the entirety of True Cross Academy's first year. Rin had quickly understood that if he wanted to know something about literally anything that Lucifer would explain it in great detail, often going far beyond what Rin had asked for in the first place.  
  
Rin felt himself nodding off but forced himself to remain awake, if only for his neighbour's sake.   
  
The teacher lectured on tirelessly, before admitting with a phoney grin that, indeed, it had only been a preview for what they'd be working towards.   
  
Rin could see that because of that alone the teacher had been written down and underlined in every student's shit list. He could pinpoint exactly which ones of the brightest students were going to make the man's life a living Hell for the upcoming year.   
  
The teacher, at least, seemed to welcome the challenge.  
  
When the bell rang and everyone started packing their stuff, Rin reached out and lightly touched his neighbour's arm. "Name's Satou Rin. You are?"   
  
The boy stammered a bit, his eyes darting around, avoiding Rin's gaze. The boy wasn't being rude, he was just very shy. “I’m Godaīn Sei. Nice to meet you."   
  
Rin grinned widely. "Nice to meet ya, too, Sei." Rin threw his bag over his shoulder and darted past him with a thoughtless wave, almost crashing straight into the door frame. "See ya later!" he hollered, and without waiting for a reply, he jogged away, in search of an abandoned hallway.   
  
Every day Rin's classes ended earlier, but on Mondays he wasn't as lucky. He'd had to hurry up if he wanted to arrive at Cram School in time.   
  
Rin skidded and slipped a bit when he went around another corner in this labyrinth of a school.   
  
One upside to this late an hour was that most hallways were already emptied out, but Rin passed quite a few before he was sure there was no way anyone would stumble upon him there.   
  
He stopped in front of the locked door of a maintenance closet and Rin grabbed the Magic Key he kept on his keychain, dangling from his belt.   
  
Samael's powers.   
  
And Rin had to admit, those keys were pretty cool. He had been given his by a spokesman when he arrived on the Academy and registered himself as a Cram School student, along with the necessary instructions. The man had appeared so proud of the devices that Rin was almost convinced that man had helped create the system. Almost.  
  
Rin put the key in the keyhole and turned it smoothly, opening the door without a problem.    
  
He paused. "Oh."  
  
The hallway he entered looked like a crappy haunted house in an amusement park. It was just that funky. Rin reluctantly closed the door behind him.  
  
"You can tell where the budget goes," he grumbled.  
  
He grabbed the note from his pocket on which the classroom number stood. Which was utterly useless as absolutely none of these doors were numbered in any way.   
  
Rin sighed in defeat and hurriedly started to try and open every door he walked passed.   
  
Luckily, the only one that opened was the correct door right away, and it hadn't even taken him five minutes to find it.  
  
Rin walked in a just as crappy-looking classroom. There were only a handful of students, one of which he immediately recognised as Shima Renzou and-  
  
Oh, dear Father who art in Heaven.  
  
Renzou's hair was dyed pink.  
  
Rin made sure to not let his gaze linger, gave a quick, polite bow to everyone in general, and then hurried to take a seat somewhere in the middle of the classroom. Rin knew it wouldn't be appreciated to try and mingle right away, as everyone seemed to have a clique already.   
  
Even the two loners in the far back seemed to be perfectly content to be on their own, one of them staring at a dummy and the other playing a videogame on his PSP.  
  
_Still_ , Rin thought, as he grabbed the necessary utensils for class from his bag, _pink hair, huh_.   
  
Rin liked dyed hair just fine, no problem, but he had to admit to himself that pink was not the right colour for Renzou. He muffled a snicker in his hand, which he clumsily covered up as a cough.  
  
Rin neatly organised his notebook and scribbled down the name of the class in the top left corner. Anti-Demon Pharmacology, a subject Rin felt more than comfortable with, considering his history in the labs.   
  
Then again, Rin tapped his pencil on the blank paper, he would probably sail through every single one of these classes, no problem.   
  
His mind went back to Renzou and his two friends. One bald, meek looking guy, the other being the coolest guy Rin had ever seen.   
  
The guy had rooster-like hair that somehow managed to not look utterly ridiculous, and he had a number of asymmetrical piercings in his ears. Rin couldn’t help but get all starry-eyed for a second before he forced himself to look away lest the guy would catch him staring.   
  
Rin scratched his own longingly. Maybe he should get some, too. He knew it would only serve to piss Michael off though, seeing as it wasn't 'his' body exactly. Yeah, he mentally scratched that idea from his bucket-list, not the best thing in the world to be doing.  
  
Rin hadn't spotted Renzou's K'rik with him and the fact made Rin only feel a little bit less sad that he had to leave his sword in his dorm on Mondays because of the lack of time in between his normal and cram lectures.   
  
He started doodling a bit in his notebook, drawing some characters that looked only a bit out of proportion as he listened in on the conversation the two girls had behind him. A lot of it was meaningless gossip and predictions on what kind of classes and teachers they'd get.   
  
Rin did learn that their names were Noriko and Izumo, however.   
  
Just when Rin was about to start on another sketch, the door opened and another guy walked in.   
  
Rin glanced up and frowned. The guy was around the students' age but was fully clothed in exorcist attire. He whistled inaudibly. A genius, then, to be an exorcist at that age.   
  
The biggest surprise, however, was when the guy introduced himself as Okumura Yukio as well as their teacher for this class.  
  
Rin's mouth opened slightly in shock at that, and he was fairly sure he wasn’t the only one, judging by the stunned silence. Why was a teenager teaching them? Obviously Yukio had to have been qualified, but was this that of an undesirable position to fulfil for True Cross to send a teen, or did Yukio ask for this job?   
  
Rin didn't know and it didn't seem right by him. He moodily tapped his pen on the paper again, filing the information for a time when he could deal with it properly.  
  
"Yes, I'm the same age as every one of you, but I have been studying exorcism for two years already. Thus, please refer to me as you would any other teacher."   
  
Rin chocked inwardly. What a stick in the mud. Rin had never dealt well with politeness, and Yukio seemed the type to be really bothered by insubordination or any type of fooling around. He cursed his luck.  
  
Yukio continued on, all while keeping up a pleasant smile. "Very well. How many of you have never sustained a mashou? Please, raise your hand."   
  
Rin turned slightly to look through the room. Three people had raised their hands. The two friends of Renzou as well as the brunette who was either Noriko or Izumo.   
  
Rin held back an indignant huff. He had always known, but he really didn't have the desire to actually see people willingly throw themselves into the world of demons, only to be indoctrinated to fight battles against them, without ever having been hurt by one, or even seen one.   
  
And would any of them ever know they were being used like that, besides him and Renzou?   
  
Rin growled. That just pissed him off even more.  
  
Yukio quickly counted. "We will start our first lesson on the mashou rite, then." He chalked the words down on the board. "When exorcists refer to mashou, we mean the injury or illness sustained by a demon, which will then allow the human victim to see and interact with demons henceforth."   
  
Yukio began to explain how the old classroom was in actuality nested by Goblins, and he set up a device whilst he continued on that he was going to draw a few out to use in the rite by mixing milk and rotten animal blood.   
  
Rin refrained from gagging at the smell when Yukio released some of the mixture.  
  
Rin could see a tiny Goblin appear through the walls, shyly floating towards the device on the teacher's desk.   
  
Everyone was quiet. Those who couldn't see demons, _yet_ , were focussed on Yukio, who was pressing some buttons on the machinery. The guy then formed a symbol with his hand and chanted a very short verse.  
  
The Goblin chirped and remained frozen in the air, a mere inch above the mixture that had drawn him out. The demon screeched only a second later and began to squirm, his tiny claws scratching the air fruitlessly.   
  
Yukio beckoned the three students to come forward and took a hold of their wrist, one by one, and slowly guided it to the foaming Goblin.   
  
The cool guy was first in line and looked determined, barely flinching when the Goblin scratched his hand. The guy blinked for a second and then grinned viciously, before confidently returning to his seat.   
  
Oh.  
  
Rin knew that look, he'd seen it in the eyes of various Illuminati members. That guy had a goal, and he wanted to become an exorcist to achieve that. Rin raised an eyebrow at that. He supposed that was better than doing this all because 'it was the right thing to do'.  
  
The bald guy, who was far shorter when standing up than Rin initially had thought him to be, was next and gasped when he obtained the mashou. He quickly hurried back to his seat.  
  
The girl had been a little shaken at first, but had calmed down after seeing only a minor scratch appear twice. When she, too, was done, she retreated to sit next to her friend, who was beaming proudly at her.  
  
Just when Rin wondered what Yukio would do to the Goblin, the guy muttered the little demon’s fatal verse, and the Goblin disappeared with a cry. Rin rested his head on his arm, the result was logical. Fair enough.  
  
Yukio brought his hands together. “Now that that is out of the way, how about we finally start with everyone’s introductions. Let’s start from the rear left, please.”  
  
Rin turned around in time to see the guy with the pink puppet finally move. Rin’s mouth opened in awe when the voice seemed to come from the dummy.  
  
“Takara Nemu, next!”  
  
Rin blinked. That guy was amazing at ventriloquism. He briefly wondered if he could ask for a lesson at some point.  
  
The guy playing his PSP was next, and Rin almost laughed at the fact that he apparently hadn’t stopped playing once during this class.  
  
“I’m Yamada. Oh, cool, the sword of the accursed.” Yamada’s voice trailed off to a whisper after his lackluster introduction.  
  
Rin cringed. Two down, and he already knew this was going to be a disaster. He almost felt bad for Yukio.  
  
“Ah, uh, I’m Paku Noriko. It’s nice to meet you all.”  
  
Rin smiled. So the timid brunette was Noriko, then her friend with purple twin-tails was Izumo. Rin turned to look at her and almost missed what she said when he finally recognized her with a start.  
  
“I’m Kamiki Izumo.”  
  
Oh no. Rin paled in horror. Oh no, no- no.  
  
Kamiki Izumo was Tamamo’s – the Nine-Tailed Fox Spirit host’s – treasure.  
  
Guilt shocked through him like lightning. Rin's stomach twisted painfully and he nearly forgot that it was his turn.  
  
Composing himself without a second hesitation, he made sure to face the majority of the class with a carefree smile. "Nice to meet you, I'm Satou Rin."  
  
And everything continued as if nothing had happened, which, it actually really hadn't.   
  
But Rin couldn't shake the shame he felt, heavy in his stomach. Tamamo had been experimented on beyond recognition, and suddenly, the times she had deliriously compared Rin to her 'treasure' afterwards weren't happy memories anymore.  
  
"I'm Suguro Ryuji." The cool-looking guy pushed the guy next to him with his elbow.  
  
"Pleased to meet you, I'm Miwa Konekomaru." The bald guy bowed his head slightly.  
  
And then it was Renzou's turn. The guy casually grinned. "And last, but certainly not least, I'm Shima Renzou."  
  
Yukio looked pleased. "Good. I hope you will all learn to get along nicely. Exorcists operate in teams, after all."  
  
Rin's eyes lit up. It sounded like fun! Sure, a lot of the missions he did for the Illuminati were carried out in teams, but that was only because he was still training. Eventually, higher ranked members, like the agents, assassins and spies, would go on solo assignments.   
  
But Rin liked group missions, so he was looking forward to the assignments he and his classmates would get.   
  
"For now, let's continue on with the schedule for this class."  
  
Rin crossed his eyes at that, and zoned out. Who cares what they were going to cover anyway? He'd know when they were actually going to discuss the subject. Rin knew he'd forget before they'd arrive at that point.  
  
He looked down, blinking slowly, vaguely registering some topics he recognised, but aside from that napped away, and blindly doodled a bit.   
  
Rin realised that Yukio was wrapping the class up and he looked up again. Oh, Yukio had chalked a lot down on the board. He panicked for a second, but then he read it through carefully and saw that he indeed did know all of it.  
  
Lucifer had been right, then.  
  
Yukio excused the class and Rin stretched, yawning openly, dumping his stuff in his bag.   
  
When he stood up, he readied his resolve. Rin turned around, fully intend on making small talk when he noticed the heated glare he got from Ryuji.   
  
Rin's eyes widened. How? How had he managed to piss off the super cool guy without even talking to him? "Uh... I'm sorry?"  
  
Ryuji kicked the table. "You seemed to have fun sleeping through class."  
  
Rin blinked. Ryuji didn’t seem angry per se to him, he appeared to be more frustrated than anything. Ryuji genuinely looked like he was wondering what Rin was doing there but Rin wasn’t having it. What was this guy's deal? Who cares what Rin does in class as long as he gets results in the end, right? Rin had had his fair share of rude people in his life, but never has someone outright disliked him from the get go. 

To be fair, now that he thought about it, the only reason for that was most likely because the Illuminati members were terrified of being send away if the little sibling of the Commander didn’t like them. Rin didn’t have that advantage over the people here and that made him feel way too small and judged for his liking.  
  
Rin recovered from his shock and glared right back at him, his temper flaring up. "Does my attitude bother you that much? You should try and project your frustration on something else, because I'm not about to fix my posture to your liking."  
  
Ryuji was taken aback by Rin’s tone. He straightened himself, took a step closer and practically growled at Rin. "Why, you little-"   
  
The flash of a hand interrupted Rin’s response. "Ah, Bon-!" Konekomaru jumped up in between Rin and Ryuji, arms wide and expression tense. The guy shifted to look at Ryuji and made calming hand motions.  
  
Rin shifted his weight and turned to look at the girls, who were watching the three of them, when he felt their gaze burning in his back. He sighed, letting his shoulders relax, and shrugged apologetically.   
  
Izumo rolled her eyes, but Noriko let out a nervous chuckle. "I think you two got off on the wrong foot," she said shyly.   
  
Ryuji bristled and finally backed off. Konekomaru looked conflicted, but ended up standing beside his friend, unable to say a thing.  
  
Renzou walked over and, completely ignoring the males, made a B-line for Noriko and Izumo. "I apologise for Bon's bad manners," he bowed before them. "I look forward to working with the two of you."  
  
If looks of disgust hadn't been invented yet, then Izumo had just become their founder. She looked appalled and highly offended by Renzou, and huffed, ignoring him.  
  
Noriko giggled, but didn't reply either.  
  
"Yikes," said Rin and he could tell that Konekomaru seconded that statement, as he had brought his palm to his forehead and groaned.   
  
Rin turned to Ryuji, forcing himself to smile, which felt awfully painful. "Noriko is right, my bad. I had a rough day and nodded off. I reacted a bit harshly there."  
  
Ryuji shook his head, and surprised Rin when he looked up with a sheepish expression to his face. "No, it was my fault. I shouldn't have gone after you like that after only our first day."  
  
Crisis averted, the Commander would be pleased, but for now Rin would have to settle for a pleased teacher.  
  
Yukio had come over, after all, looking mightily smug with his innocent smile. All right, maybe the guy did have a sense of humour. Somewhere. Buried deep within. Hidden, like his freckles, desperate to come to the surface.  
  
Rin couldn't wait to start pushing all of Yukio’s buttons.  
  
"You all received your schedules, didn't you?"  
  
Rin let out a laugh. Obviously, Yukio had only stepped over originally to scold them, every sign pointed to that, but the genius hadn’t thought of what to do when that had turned out to not be necessary anymore. Rin threw an arm over Yukio's shoulder, embracing that sense of victory when he felt Yukio freeze up at the contact.   
  
Rin was awarded a cold polite smile of death for all his effort.   
  
"As if you don't know that," Rin winked as he teased. "Ya don't need to make up a reason to come chat with us."  
  
Yukio looked down right offended. He batted Rin's arm off and stared the grinning Rin dead in his eyes. "May I remind you I'm your teacher?"  
  
Rin's smile faltered a bit when Yukio shot him a quick grin, but then he beamed brightly. "You may remind me any time, Yukio!" Rin pushed him playfully, which caused Yukio’s glasses to tilt off his nose.

Yukio quickly caught them and with a glare put them back on. “I see,” he coughed. “Anyway, you can all leave for now. I have to lock up the classroom. Next time, we will be located somewhere else, so do try and arrive a bit earlier than you normally would so you have time to look for it.”

“Great,” Renzou drawled. “Yeah, I’m gonna be late.”

“Long day tomorrow?” Rin titled his head to the side.

“Yep,” Renzou answered, pointing with his thumb to his friends individually. “Me, Bon and Koneko that is.”

Rin smiled brightly. “Had one of those today, I got it easy tomorrow. Actually,” he raised his voice just a bit. “Who is sharing the dorm with me?”

Noriko looked at him with sympathy. “No one arrived yet?”

“No.” Rin scratched his head. “Stayed up all night for him, too.”

“It’s me, ya dumbass.” Rin looked around and was dumbfounded to see Nemu – or, rather, the puppet – talking to him. “I arrived in the morning.”

Rin blinked. He grinned crookedly a few seconds later. First impressions counted. “Good to know. Do you need help unpacking?”

“No.” Nemu made the puppet flick its ears, like someone would flip their hair, then turned around and lazily left. It was then that that Rin realised Yamada was also already long gone.

Rin just lifelessly stared at the door for a hot minute, until he felt a hand on his shoulder. Renzou had patted him mockingly with a wry smile, trying to hold back his laughter. “Great roommate you got there, dude.”

Rin let out a sob in fake anguish.

The trio from Kyoto left right after Nemu, the girls following after them. Since Yukio was staying behind anyway, Rin bolted out of the classroom on his own to tackle them one last time. “See you tomorrow, Noriko, Izumo.”

“Don’t you call me by my first name like that,” Izumo deadpanned, turning around to look straight at Rin with a cold look to her eyes.

Rin swallowed, his stomach felt like it had cringed inward. Rin wanted to do _something_ for Izumo, and he needed her to let him. He couldn’t ask for Tamamo’s release, not until Michael had finalised his latest creation, and he couldn’t tell Izumo that her mom was alright, either, because she just simply wasn’t. He felt like a coward for not doing a single thing.

Rin remembered Tamamo calling out for her ‘treasure’, time and time again.

So, Rin smiled, brushing away Noriko’s apologies for Izumo’s words. “All right then,” he winked cheekily. “See you tomorrow, Polkabrows.”

Izumo grew red in the face and brought her hands to her eyebrows. “Leave my eyebrows out of this,” she screeched, grabbing a hold of Noriko’s hand, who was laughing louder than she ever had that day, and pulled her along to a random door and then straight to their shared dorm.

Rin waved after them and pulled out his own key, ready to leave.

_Sure thing, lady Tamamo, I’ll try to keep an eye on your treasure once in a while, for now. It’s the least I can do._


	4. The Leap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rin coxes Noriko and Izumo with food. Shiemi joins the team. Lo and behold, for Rin passes an exam with flying colours and laughs at Ryuuji's dream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for your patience this time around, I included an explanation in the End Notes, if you're interested. I should be back to my usual schedule afterwards.
> 
> I hope the twice as long chapter kind of makes up for the long wait.
> 
> Also, chapter 98, am I right?

Rin hadn't spoken to Nemu that night, who didn't seem keen on small talk altogether anyway.   
  
It wasn't like Rin wasn't trying, he truly was! He had asked the guy if he wanted anything for dinner, if he had any allergies or preferences, and what he thought of classes so far... All meaningless topics that practically begged for the start of a conversation.  
  
Rin was awarded a 'no,' and 'fuck off', and he didn't know whether to laugh or cry at the fact that Nemu had always had the puppet speak for him.  
  
Rin had quietly attempted to do some assignments in advance instead, a last resort to quench his boredom, but he honestly couldn't be bothered. He'd written down some key words he'd improvise on if he were called out during classes, and even that he didn't feel like doing for the grand majority of the exercises he had been assigned.  
  
Eventually, Rin had given up when even Nemu had wordlessly gone to bed. He had grabbed his phone to unlock the safety coding so he could access the Commander's cell number.  
  
_My roommate is really rude. Send help._  
  
Lucifer knew better than to expect Rin to only use the phone for emergencies or otherwise share intelligence by now anyway. Regulations, be damned.   
  
Rin threw the phone onto his bed beside him. His clothing he dumped into the basket in the bathroom, where he undressed and showered after he carefully locked door, stepping into in his pyjamas for the night. Satisfied, he limply collapsed on the bed, safely securing his tail around his waist, just in case.   
  
"G'night, Master of Puppets," Rin said lamely, and he curled up. Naturally, he didn't get a response.   
  
Rin instantly felt cranky when he woke up. Not only was it way earlier than he liked, but Lucifer also hadn't even bothered to reply that night. Rin knew the Commander was busy, but he knew that Lucifer was often awake the whole night, as well. Surely, he could have spared a single second? He ignored the childish disappointment, and stretched.   
  
Rin looked at the other side of the room and saw an empty bed. Rin huffed, offended Nemu had just up and left him without a word. "Are you kidding me?" he yawned, checking his phone. 7:34 AM. Who even was up at this hour already?   
  
He jumped out of bed and skipped to the small shared kitchen. Or, rather, it seemed like Rin was the only one using it. Because either Nemu was a clean freak or he never used the space, the latter appearing more likely by the second.   
  
He thought nothing of it.  
  
Grabbing some vegetables from the fridge, Rin cooked up breakfast and collected the stuff he needed for classes that day. He brought with him a huge box of food to fill the empty space in his barely filled bag.   
  
Rin threw his bag over his shoulder and locked the door to the dorm when he exited. He jogged over the bridge and through the gardens to the main building and went straight to his locker. He grabbed from that some notes he forgot from the day prior and put them with the rest of his stuff.   
  
The bell rang and Rin walked over to his first class of the day, dodging students who were carelessly running about. His eyes lit up with glee when he spotted Izumo and Noriko in the hallway. He sped up a bit so he walked beside them. "Good morning, Noriko, Polkabrows."  
  
Izumo whirled around quickly enough for one of her twintails to hit her own face. "Hey!" she let out an indignant yelp.  
  
"Good morning. Satou, right?" Noriko smiled sweetly, the complete opposite of her best friend. "How are you this morning?"  
  
Rin beamed at her, ignoring Izumo in the presence of better company, as well as trying his best to ignore the heavy weight of guilt in his stomach. "I'm great, thanks. Call me 'Rin', though." He brought his hands together. "What do you guys have now?"   
  
"Physics," Noriko sighed. "I'm no good at it, I'm afraid."   
  
Rin smiled and pointed at himself with his thumb. "Hey, I faired all right in middle school, maybe I can help?"  
  
"Oh yeah?" Izumo snorted, looking at her nails rather than facing Rin, a smug look on her face. "What was your average, then?"   
  
Rin grinned sheepishly, deciding on a white lie. "I usually got a score between eighty and ninety more often than not. That was middle school, though, I might not pick this up as fast as back then."  
  
He would, though, all thanks to his slaver of a Commander.   
  
Izumo huffed. "Then you shouldn't talk big, you idiot."   
  
"Izumo..." Noriko shook her head, resigned yet disapproving of her friend’s animosity.  
  
"Nah, she's right." Rin looked ahead and saw they neared their classroom. "So, how about this?" he began. "If I manage to explain everything perfectly to Noriko what she didn't get right way, you guys will eat lunch with me today? I was hoping to run into any of you, so I made enough to feed our whole group, anyway."   
  
One look at Izumo told Rin all he would ever need to know about her thoughts on that, but before she could decline, Noriko beamed. "We'd love to."  
  
"Paku!"  
  
She added a bit sheepishly: "Would you mind if I scribbled down some questions I have so I can ask you after?"  
  
Rin smiled. "I don't mind. So, deal?"   
  
"Deal!" Noriko chirped. She grabbed Izumo's arm and let her inside, making her sit beside her at a paired table.   
  
Rin spotted his science partner lurking around, who had already noticed him and had waved. "Sei! Good morning!"  
  
"Good morning," he said. He nodded to the chair beside him. "Want to join me in physics? No pressure, of course."  
  
Rin had already sat down before the last part, secretly relieved he survived another class without being singled out. "Thanks, dude. Do we only have these classes together?"  
  
Sei shrugged. "I wouldn't know. What do you have after this?"  
  
"English." Rin grabbed his books and placed them down.  
  
"Not me," Sei lowered his volume to a whisper as the teacher got ready to start. "I got sociology."  
  
Rin groaned, settled in for another class of boredom and scribbled down whatever he thought to be useful.   
  
All in all, it was just another boring experience.  
  
When the bell rang, beautifully so signalling for freedom, Sei hurried off to the other side of the academy with a quick good-bye, and Rin caught up with Noriko and Izumo, who were waiting for him. Rather impatiently, actually, in Izumo's case.  
  
Noriko clasped her hands together and chatted away, bombarding Rin with continuously bolder questions about physics, until even Izumo couldn't deny that Rin knew his stuff when he kept answering with confidence.

"As long as you don't expect me to praise you," she said.  
  
Rin hoped she never would or the guilt would destroy him from the inside out.   
  
Instead, he asked them once more if they really wouldn't mind if he joined them for lunch, which Noriko enthusiastically waved off when she noticed that Izumo didn't put up much of a fight to keep Rin away.   
  
Noriko and Izumo went to history class, whereas Rin skidded off to English.   
  
Absolutely no one he recognized was in his class and, out of everyone, absolutely no one was interested in talking to him. Just great. His luck had to run out eventually.  
  
After an OK class, Rin quickly walked to the fountain outside where he had asked the girls to meet him. He was the first to arrive but the other two didn't keep him waiting for long.  
  
Rin moved to sit on the ground in front of them, whereas they sat on the stone edge of the fountain.   
  
"All right, so," Rin grabbed his bento from his bag and opened it, presenting the neat contents to the girls. "Will you try it?"  
  
Izumo looked perplexed for a second before haughtily picking some food up with her chopsticks and took a bite.  
  
"Oh, Rin!" Noriko cheered. "This is delicious!"  
  
Izumo took a second and glared at the guy in front of her, pointing at him accusingly. "You didn't really cook this, did you?"  
  
Rin puffed his cheeks up. "I did too!" He smiled brightly at Noriko, blissful from the praise, swaying from left to right. "Thanks!"   
  
Noriko chuckled, as she reached out for another piece after asking if she could. "Rin is a great cook. You must have had a lot of practice."   
  
"Sure have," he said, eating some himself. Rin brought it back to Izumo, who fake-reluctantly grabbed some more. "I really like cooking, actually."  
  
Izumo smirked. "Well then you wouldn't mind making more food for us, now would you?"   
  
"I really don't, actually!" Rin laughed when the girl's grin fell. "Dinner, too, if you guys are ever up for it. We're all going to be partners, after all."  
  
Izumo blushed. "Don't say that so casually. Besides," she looked away, stubbornly ignoring the food. "I'm not going to be a team player. You better not count on me, I work solo."  
  
Noriko saddened. "Izumo..."   
  
But Rin grinned, thinking he had a fair grasp on Izumo's personality by now. “Oh, oh. Well, I'll be sure to keep that in mind, Polkabrows. But you will come over for dinner one day, and lunch, of course." He smiled, scratching his head. "I like making a lot of food. If you guys want, I can bring lunch more often when our schedules allow it?"  
  
"That sounds wonderful." Noriko gently nudged Izumo. "We'll be sure to help you one way or another in return. Won't we, Izumo?"  
  
"Whatever."  
  
Rin closed off the significantly less filled box, smiling to himself. "I'd like that." He dumped it unceremoniously back in his bag. The trio talked about some senseless subjects until the bell signalling the end of the break rang. "You guys have any more classes today?"  
  
"Two more," Noriko sighed. "How about you, Rin?"  
  
He shrugged, throwing her a sympathetic look. "Nope, I'm done. I think I'm gonna go get some reading done before cram school."  
  
"Lucky." Izumo got up and held her hand out for her friend. "Let's go, Paku."  
  
Noriko nodded and accepted her hand. "We'll see you this afternoon, then, Rin."  
  
"Yup, see ya!" Rin waved.   
  
He got up, stretched and then went straight to his dorm. On his way there he tried to inconspicuously find the barrier placed by Samael to keep demons out, but he couldn't find the exact location so he quickly resigned himself to his fate and gave up. He couldn't find any of his cram school peers, either, so he was done procrastinating.   
  
When he reached the dorm he called out, looking in the few rooms they had, and concluded that Nemu wasn't there. Rin was free to grab his phone and openly read its contents.  
  
Rin groaned.  
  
_Did you assimilate all right?_  
  
Of all the things the Commander could be texting him, it was a boring question whether he had made any friends yet. Or at least, that was how Rin chose to interpret it, ignoring everything else but the best possible reason behind Lucifer's actions. With a happy smile, he texted him back.  
  
_I did fine, I think. Quick question: Okumura Yukio, exorcist/teacher, only 15 y.o. Info?_  
  
Rin only had to wait a couple minutes for a reply. He rose his eyebrow when he read the text.  
  
_I shall send you our record of him this evening. Be sure to read through it carefully and rationally._  
  
Rin blinked. So there was still more to the guy than meets the eye, huh?  
  
_Understood._  
  
He locked the feature safely away again and proceeded to sit behind his desk. He blinked owlishly at the books in front of him, sighed and eventually ended up grabbing his phone again.  
  
Rin walked to his bed and set the alarm for about an hour before his cram class and face-planted into the sheets. 

 

  
Some hours later, Rin felt rejuvenated as he opened the door to this day's classroom. He was the second to arrive, but at the desks sat someone he hadn't met before.  
  
The girl wore traditional attire, had bright green eyes and short blonde hair. She hurriedly, albeit clumsily, got up and raised her voice after stammering a bit.   
  
And raising her voice she did alright, a tad bit too loudly, even.  
  
"Ah- I! My n-name is Moriyama Shiemi." She bowed, almost hitting the desk with her forehead. "Pleased to meet you."  
  
Despite himself, the girl's demeanor made Rin feel like he had wronged her somehow, and that he should be ashamed for doing so. He had never seen anyone be this nervous around him outside of meeting new Illuminati members in a professional environment.  
  
Rin barely stopped himself from apologising, instead forcing himself to grin teasingly. "Satou Rin." He walked over and sat down next to her, startling the poor girl. "Great you joined up, pretty much last minute, but I'm glad to have you on the team."  
  
"Yes! T-Thank you!"  
  
Rin scratched his cheek. "You may calm down a bit though, aren’t you too nervous?"  
  
"Ah." Shiemi blushed darkly. "Well, yeah, a bit."  
  
"Everyone is really nice," Rin said. He paused, actually not that sure of himself. "I think. I've only met most of them once, after all."  
  
Rin met Izumo and Noriko twice by now. As well as, though unknown to everyone else, Renzou as well. Man, Rin really needed to talk to him again.  
  
The next ones to arrive in the classroom were Noriko and Izumo.   
  
Rin waved at them, prompting them to gingerly come over. "Guys! This is Shiemi! She'll be joining us!"  
  
Shiemi smiled at them. "Y-Yes! Hello. I'm Moriyama Shiemi. P-Pleased to meet you!"  
  
Izumo glared at her, and Rin instantly recognized the gaze she gave the girl. She was judging her, and by the looks of it, she did not like what she saw.   
  
"Whatever." Izumo passed their desk with such coldness it startled even Noriko.   
  
Rin hadn't expected that. He thought that Izumo's reaction to him had been her at her worst, but she had obviously warmed up to him quicker than he thought.  
  
Noriko was taken aback. "W-Wait, Izumo!" She hurried after her friend.  
  
"Ah," Rin stuttered. His eyes shifted from Shiemi to the ceiling, and then basically anywhere but her. She looked devastated, but what was he supposed to do? "We'll work on it," he eventually managed to mumble.  
  
It sounded weak, even to himself, but Shiemi beamed. "Right!" She was a bad liar, and tears were threatening to fall from the corners of her eyes.   
  
Why was this all so much more difficult than Rin had anticipated?  
  
The Kyoto trio arrived together with Yukio, who appeared as in a pleasant mood as only a devious teacher. He dropped his shoulder bag unto the teacher's desk and announced: “A surprise test, just to see who of you could use some extra help going through the materials.”  
  
Rin groaned loudly and reluctantly moved away from Shiemi to sit separately. Everyone was handed a test and Rin slumped back in his chair, idly reading through the questions.

What to use when burned by a Salamander, what to combine with what to create a soothing paste: the basic pharmaceutics.

He scribbled down his answers, and then leaned back. The back of his chair leaned on the table behind him, balancing on the two back legs.  
  
He wasn’t the first to finish, Rin looked around discretely to see that Ryuji had also finished within half an hour and was reading through his answers. Rin didn’t want to bother and walked to the front, giving his papers to Yukio, who rose his eyebrow.  
  
“I suppose you may now finish up on any other assignments you have.”  
  
Great. Rin walked back to his seat and grabbed the book he expected to need for this class, as he hadn’t bothered to bring anything else. He supposed he’d just read through it leisurely.  
  
The hour finished and Yukio promised them to have all tests marked by the next Monday.  
  
Rin wanted to talk to some more to Shiemi, but she had sprinted to join Yukio and was talking rapidly and enthusiastically, undoubtedly chatting away to conceal her anxiety. Rin had also wanted to try and talk to Yukio, his curiosity piqued, but it seemed like he wouldn’t be really appreciated intruding in their moment, so he walked out, straight to his room.  
  
He had a report to read, after all.  
  
To his surprise, Nemu had returned to the dormitory as well, having arrived even before Rin had. Desperate to repair an awful first-impression, Rin greeted him with a bright smile. “Hey! How did your test go?”  
  
The puppet shrug, and how did that even work? “It was literally not a big deal.”  
  
Rin’s grin faded. He was really trying his best here and yet, befriending people seemed to be the most complicated mission he’d had to complete thus far. “Right… So, I still have some leftovers from the other day and I’m gonna spin it for tonight. Will you join?”  
  
“No,” the puppet perked up, and Nemu walked to the refrigerator. He grabbed the packaged leftovers and held on to them. “I will be taking all of your food, instead.”  
  
“Wait, what?” Rin blinked. “Hey! Hold up!” He reached forward and took a hold of Nemu’s arm. “You can’t just grab that. I paid for that shit, the very least you could do is eat it with me.”  
  
“… Unfortunately, I can’t tonight.” The puppet was smacked against Rin’s hand and he reluctantly released him, frowning. “I’ll join another time, and by the way-” Nemu bumped into him roughly, suddenly and without provocation, disrupting his own sentence as well as Rin’s balance.  
  
Rin stumbled back, baring his teeth and growled, agitated. “Alright listen here-!”  
  
“Huh,” Nemu ignored him, inspecting him closely. Rin’s skin itched at the intensity of it. Then Nemu turned around, and absentmindedly walked away with the food in his hand. “Weird.”  
  
Rin watched in silence how the door slammed shut after Nemu had left, just like that. Rin’s mouth was agape in horror and he started to actually feel angry. “What is with that guy?” Rin cracked his knuckles. Nemu is slowly turning out to be the first guy he actually dislikes, maybe, but Rin sure as Hell wasn’t going to make him any more free food.  
  
“Now then,” Rin pulled his phone from his pocket, willing himself to forget about his infuriating roommate, and walked into his shared room, throwing himself into the bed, which cracked loudly in protest. He flipped through the phone, entered the codes and logged back into the texting service with Lucifer.  
  
_File included: Okumura Yukio, (Okumura Y.).  
_  
No other message anywhere. Rin sighed and opened it up. Initially skimming through it, he immediately sat upright and stared at it with widened eyes. “What the-?”  
  
_Okumura Y. is one of the Nephilim twins birthed by Egin Yuri (henceforth referred to as Egin Y., status: deceased) and Satan, Lord and God of Gehenna. Whereas one of them, R., was acquired during the Blue Night by the Illuminati, Okumura Y. was raised under the wing of Fujimoto Shiro (henceforth referred to as Fujimoto S.), who was and still is a Paladin of True Cross. Samael/Mephisto Pheles is suspected as an accomplice in leading Illuminati agents away from collecting the other child.  
  
The limited information on Okumura Y. describes him as lacking demonic features or ability, unlike R., and climbing True Cross’ ranks in the guise of a relatively talented Exorcist (ranked: Middle First Class Exorcist)._

 _Whereas they are aware or anywhere near curious about R. remains to be revealed._ _  
  
Further investigation is required.  
_  
The rest Rin skipped, as it was all information about Yukio’s missions, how he was promoted, and how he was to take tests every now and again to assure his status, which was, and it made Rin’s stomach recoil in distaste: human. Rin punched the wall next to him, creating a crater in the structure. He breathed hard through his nose and leaned into his hands, bending forward.  
  
He stayed in that position for a few minutes, breathing erratically. He straightened his back, hissing through his teeth. Unwilling to wait until he thought better of it, he pressed the speed dial on his phone and stared straight ahead of himself.  
  
“Rin.” Lucifer had picked it up almost right away. He had obviously been expecting the call by how calm he sounded.  
  
Rin swallowed, finding it difficult to form a sentence with the turmoil in his mind. “We – Yukio... is my brother?”  
  
Lucifer was silent for only a short while, and when he responded he sounded as collected as ever, and that did wonders for Rin’s nerves. Nothing had changed, the tone told him, and Lucifer was still his Commander, still his brother. He would be fine.

“Okumura Yukio is your blood-related twin. As you read, he is fully human.” A pause. “If it brings you any peace, though we share not a mother, your nature as a Nephilim is far more matured, and you will find that that implies you and me are closer in essence than you and Okumura Yukio are.”  
  
And shit, it did make Rin feel better. His breathing calmed down until it was back to a normal rate. It helped him clear his thoughts, calmly going through the revelation.

“Yeah,” he breathed, his words considerably less accusing. “Yeah, I know, I’m sorry.”  
  
“There is no need for an apology,” the Commander said, ever rational. “You reacted calmly enough, considering the situation. You did well.”  
  
Rin smiled weakly, even though Lucifer couldn’t see it. The praise sending a familiar sense of warmth down his spine. “Yes, thank you.”  
  
“Rin.”  
  
Rin blinked. “Yeah?”  
  
He waited a bit for the response to come. “Initially I did not view you as a relative of mine, as you may very well recall.”  
  
Rin remembered cold nights of himself, crying alone, injured not only from his flames but from the experiments, his skin ripped and his bones snapped. Or fully healed for as far as he was capable off, and just burning up. Back then, he only remembered being in pain and being scared, all the time and of every little thing. Rin had feared the dark, other people and the light, the only constant comfort being his flames, which continued to devour his flesh, considerably compromising his mental state.

He didn’t remember when Lucifer came for him, or why, but he had always associated him with warmer days. Not immediately better, as the trials went on for many years after he began to see the Commander regularly, but it gradually become durable thanks to Lucifer.

He smiled fondly at the memory.  
  
“But,” Lucifer continued, unaware of Rin’s thoughts. “That is what I perceive you to be now. I do not - and will not - extend the same emotion towards Okumura Yukio.”  
  
Was it bad to enjoy hearing that? Rin thought it was, but he really did like the thought of having earned that special kind of approval Lucifer wouldn’t give to anyone else.  
  
He was still shocked. He still did not like this newly discovered knowledge... or did he? Rin, in the end, was more confused than anything. Knowing his brother - Lucifer, not Yukio - was there, made all the difference. Rin wiped the sweat from his brow with his sleeve.

“Right. Thanks, I-” Rin coughed. “I suppose this was one of the things I will have to look into.”  
  
“Not necessarily,” he said, surprising Rin. Lucifer appeared to tab something on the desk on his side. “We’re already looking into it. I will inform you were that to change, and if we were to require your assistance.”  
  
“Alright, fair enough,” Rin walked through his room aimlessly. “So, just continue to observe, right? Ah,” he scratched his head. “I doubt him being the son of Satan is common knowledge.”  
  
“Do not reveal you are aware of that fact,” Lucifer agreed. “And treat whoever mentions it with extreme prejudice. As far as we are informed, the only ones in the know are the Paladin and Samael.”  
  
“Great,” drawled Rin, inspecting the damage he’d done to the wall. “So not even the Grigori? Samael is very loyal indeed. And the Paladin, too. What are they aiming?”  
  
Lucifer did not respond right away, Rin heard him scribbling something down. Rin snickered teasingly. “I am disturbing you with questions you do not want to answer yet, aren’t I?”  
  
Lucifer hummed. “Do not trouble yourself with that.”  
  
“Nah, it’s fine. I’ll hang up. I’ll try and make friends with Yukio or something, see what I can find out.”  
  
“Your relations with your peers and superiors are yours to mould.” Rin rolled his eyes at how awfully bored Lucifer sounded. “If the need arises, we will send you more files at your request.”  
  
Kamiki Izumo. The name came to mind right away, and almost escaped his lips, but Rin pushed it back violently. “Nothing right now.” Rin flicked his tail free from its confining constriction. “Okay. Right, then. Bye.”  
  
“Good evening.”  
  
The line died with an annoying ‘beep’, and in the meantime Rin had pulled out a poster he had been given by a random Illuminati member and some tape from a box he had yet to unpack. He positioned said poster over the crate in the wall, taping it down. “Eh,” he looked, throwing the phone on his bed. “Doesn’t look too shabby.”  
  
He didn’t bother worrying about on how the poster was of a manga he read a while back, one that would easily destroy his reputation right away. Nemu wasn’t going to comment on it anyway.

 

  
The week went by fairly mundanely after that. Rin stopped cooking for two, as Nemu had yet to eat around him. However, Nemu wasn’t stealing his leftovers anymore, either. Rin supposed that was a good thing. The two hardly talked and Rin barely remembered that someone even lived with him at some points.    
  
On the other hand, he, Izumo and Noriko were turning midday picnics into _a thing_. On Fridays, when Izumo and Noriko had only a few classes, the two girls cooked something up so Rin didn’t have to do so all the time.  
  
Rin and Noriko got along fine, and Rin might even start to consider her a friend. Izumo, however, was a different matter altogether. She trusted him as far as she could throw him, which wasn’t very far. ( _They’d tried_ ). Noriko confided in him that Izumo was like that to everyone at first, and that she was sure Izumo would warm up to him, but Rin didn’t really believe her.  
  
When the three of them were together it turned out alright, however. They talked about the regular and cram classes, about cooking, music and even manga and comics. Izumo flushed an awful red when Noriko mentioned how the girl likes shoujo manga. Rin had beamed at her, telling her about ongoing series he himself enjoyed. Not many of them aligned, but Noriko knew one of them. They agreed to go and buy a new release together at some point, so they’d save some money.  
  
Izumo scoffed, but she too ended up adding a favourite title they’d read together. Even though she made it appear she was pressured into it, Noriko had told Rin that Izumo was secretly looking forward to it.  
  
Shiemi, however, was a touchy subject. Rin tried his best to get the girls to like one another, but Izumo flat out refused to cooperate. He did convince the blonde girl to sit with them during cram school classes, but Rin got the feeling he was just making her feel pitied and uncomfortable.  
  
He’d never been in this situation before and he really had no idea what he could do.  
  
The Kyoto trio were a tight knot, but Rin did manage to talk to them now and again. Ryuji had been pissed with him after he had noticed how Rin falling asleep day one was not because he had been tired, so that was an issue. Konekomaru assured him it was because Ryuji was very dedicated and goal oriented, not because of an inherent dislike.

Rin had scoffed at that. To him it didn’t seem like a reason to dislike someone who wasn’t as driven as the other. Though, Rin had to admit, he guessed he kind of saw where he was coming from.  
  
And Yamada? Hell, Rin rarely even noticed that guy. Yamada always arrived way before anyone else, playing his game in the back, and left like he was some sort of ninja: out of the blue and completely silent. No one seemed to talk to him, and he didn’t seem to reach out to anyone.  
  
Rin just got a headache thinking about the mess that they could get into because of that.  
  
In the weekend he was forced to finally do some homework on his own and read up on subjects he had missed in class as he had slept through most of it, away from social drama. He half-assed most of it, however, and ended up bothering Lucifer by texting him every now and again.  
  
Lucifer never texted back, though.  
  
The following Monday, Rin was laughed at by Sei when he had to run out of class in a hurry. He only slowed down when he had to unlock a door with his magic key, and skidded to a halt in front of the door.  
  
Rin busted through the door, again the last to arrive.  
  
“Yo, Satou! Is this how yer gonna appear every Monday?”  
  
“Heya, Renzou,” Rin panted, leaning on the doorframe. “Yeah, that’s how it’s gonna be.” He waved at Yukio, who merely sighed in response, and walked over to sit in between Noriko and Shiemi.  
  
“Rin.” Rin was happy with the way Noriko had taken to address him. “You need to button your shirt up a bit, it’s loose.”  
  
“Ah,” Rin looked down, a bit flustered, and fixed it right away. “Must have gotten loose when I threw my bag off my shoulder. Thanks, Noriko.”  
  
“No problem,” she smiled kindly.  
  
“Hello, Rin,” Shiemi breathlessly chimed in. “We’re going to get our tests back today.”  
  
“Oh!” Rin leaned back, ruffling his hair. “I think I did alright, actually. How about you?”  
  
Shiemi beamed, happy to finally have someone to talk to. “I think so too. I work with my mother in an herbalist shop for Exorcists, so I knew every answer.”  
  
Rin paused. “Oh, you do?” His mind was spinning, sorting this tadbit as important information to remember. “That’s cool.”  
  
“Alright everyone, settle down.” Yukio clapped his hands together. “Now that Satou has joined us, I shall call everyone forward to receive their marked test.” He looked at Rin with a grin. “You might as well come forth first.”  
  
When Rin walked over he heard Ryuji scoff at him, obviously convinced Rin did badly. Rin felt irritation come back up again, why couldn’t that guy just leave it?  
  
Yukio handed the papers over. “I am very pleased with you, Satou,” he said, and he looked it, too. Rin managed to get a closer look at him when he stood right in front of him. In human form, they both had black hair. They also had blue eyes, but Yukio’s were more teal than his own sky-blue ones.  
  
Twins, huh, he thought. Fraternal, obviously.  
  
Yukio continued like there was no tension, which, really, there wasn’t. Only Rin was acting weird, but Yukio didn’t seem to notice, or at least, he didn’t comment on it. “You had a perfect score, well done. I do expect a lot from you now, though.”  
  
“He, what?” The previous murmurs died down at Ryuji’s offended shriek.

Rin sighed.  Ryuji wasn’t being very subtle, was he? Rin accepted the marked test, showing of a large, red ‘100’ score. He thanked Yukio and walked back, smiling at Ryuji on the way back.  
  
And, alright, that may have been a bit much, but damn did Rin feel like he deserved it. Shiemi and Noriko greeted him with praises, whereas Izumo nodded at him. Rin thought that somehow meant more to him, though, coming from the stoic girl. He thought that indicated Izumo was silently impressed, and that made him feel proud, despite it really not being a real achievement for him.  
  
Shiemi didn’t fare off as well. Apparently the sweet summer child had used nicknames for the plants and noted those down as answers. Rin encouraged her, as she looked pretty stricken and depressed. Noriko had a decent result and Izumo did almost as well as Rin had. He congratulated them both with enthusiasm, but Izumo didn’t seem to appreciate it. She actually looked bothered by it. “I don’t need your praises. I will definitely beat you next time.”  
  
“Okay!” Rin grinned, not missing a single beat. “Let’s make it a contest then!”

“Oh yeah?” Izumo smiled smugly, using the test as a fan for show. “If I win, you’ll have to get me something by my choosing.”

Rin laughed. He reached out to pinch her, but she gracefully danced aside. “Fine, if I win you’ll bake something for me.” He grinned mischievously. “I’ll make it difficult.”

Judging by Izumo’s frown, the game was on. Their teasing was light-hearted, and Rin was just happy to see Izumo loosen up a bit. Noriko giggled with Shiemi, hopefully igniting a spark of friendship for them.  
  
“How about you don’t turn serious studies into a game!” Ryuji barked from the other side of the room. Even Konekomaru was startled by it and tried to calm him down, distressed by his friend’s hostility.  
  
Their happy mood disappearing like snow in winter, Izumo huffed, suddenly back on Rin’s side. “Oh, are you upset this carefree guy beat your score?”  
  
Ryuji growled, but before he could respond Konekomaru cut him off. “Bon, you’re behaving like a child!”  
  
Ryuji tuned everyone out after that and sat back in his seat. Yukio started his lesson with a stern look on his face. Or, at least, that’s what Rin thought he would. Yukio raised his glasses a bit higher on his nose. “Everyone, grab your stuff. We’re going to another class.”  
  
Rin blinked. “Another class?”  
  
“Indeed, Satou.” Yukio walked ahead of them. “This class particular class is now moved to Monday’s, so we will go back to a single pharmaceutic class a week on Tuesdays."  
  
Rin brainstormed through everything they've had so far to determine what they could possibly be doing now. "Practical," he guessed, causing various exclamations to erupt.  
  
Yukio smiled. "That's right. Physical finesse is very important as well, after all."  
  
"Aw, yeah." Rin threw his fist in the air. "Gym class!"  
  
"Well, Satou is excited," Konekomaru said kindly, nervously trying to make up for Ryuji's outburst. "I'm afraid I've never been too good at it."  
  
"Don't worry, Konekomaru!" Rin embraced him with one arm. "When shove comes to push and we'll help you out."  
  
Izumo groaned. "It's 'when push comes to shove', you moron."  
  
"Oh right, thanks Polkabrows." Rin winked at her, causing her to flush with anger.  
  
Yukio tapped his watch impatiently. "Everyone, come on."

 

  
  
When they arrived, they quickly changed in the sportswear that had been delivered to the changing rooms. Everyone except for Shiemi, who didn’t even have a normal school uniform yet.

And, truly, Rin was beginning to be creeped out by Samael, and he was glad all of his sensitive information was on his phone. He barely stopped himself from openly shivering when he imaged what could happen if he wrote all his reports by hand. Changing was also a hazard, as Rin had to pretend to be super shy and change in private. Luckily, no one had really cared that much.

Living with a secret tail was hard.   
  
The professor they were greeted by in the indoor gym, which was essentially a huge pit, was... eccentric. His name was Tsubaki Kaoru and he had the most impressive sideburns Rin had ever had the misfortune of witnessing.  
  
Yukio left them with a skip in his walk, which had to mean that the guy was fully aware of what he was throwing at his students.   
  
The first exercise was running, and sure, Rin liked exercising so much more than theoretical crap, but running seemed a little mundane?  
  
Until Tsubaki revealed a fucking Leaper that would chase them as a test.  
  
Rin leaned over to Renzou. "Is that man okay in the head?"  
  
Renzou looked like he was about to cry. "We're going to die before we're even thrown into the field."  
  
Tsubaki wasn’t all that bad, however, as he started with lecturing the whole class about the demon in front of them. "Now remember, the Leaper -"   
  
But Rin immediately zoned out. He knew everything about Leapers already. What the teacher failed to mention, however, was that Leapers were big cuddlers and that they made the funniest squeaks when you poked their toes.   
  
Ryuji glared at him, and really, Rin was getting angry about it.    
  
"Satou. Suguro. How about you two start."  
  
Rin let his shoulders hang dejectedly. "Fine," he drawled. "Let's go Ryuji."  
  
Ryuji merely hummed, a frown once again stuck on his face.  
  
Down below in the pit, Rin carefully stretched. He'd berate himself if he ached tomorrow, after all. He watched Ryuji do the same, but decided to just ignore him.  
  
Running was as easy as it always had been. He did not sprint forward like wanted to, but chose to just stay in Ryuji's range.   
  
Ryuji tried to rile him up, taunting him with jibes and provoking comments, but Rin was tired of it already and didn't deem it worth a response.   
  
In the end, Ryuji came off as a prick, which only served to anger him even more.  
  
Izumo, however, was pleased with Rin, when he climbed the stairs back up. She even smirked at him, helping him up.  
  
He knew she was only being pleasant to him because she disliked Ryuji, but he was fine with that.  
  
Rin barely even registered when the teacher left due to a phone call from ‘Kitten’, because he was immediately pulled in a conflict between the two hotheads.  
  
"For all the critique you have on others you sure are average yourself." Izumo spat, an unwelcoming smile on her face.   
  
"I'm not critiquing his skill," Ryuji glared at Rin, directing his next words at him. "I have an issue with your lack of motivation. How will we work as a team if one of us keeps slacking off?"  
  
Rin shrugged. "Listen, you'd have a point if it weren't so ridiculous of an argument." He straightened his shirt. "As far as I know, I got the highest score in the proto-test and I just ran this course with ease. Find someone else to bother, will you?" And maybe he shouldn't have continued after that, but he blurted out: "I nominate Yamada to be your next punching bag."  
  
"Satou!" Konekomaru looked absolutely horrified. "That's way too far, and you know it!"  
  
Noriko also seemed to disapprove, grabbing Rin's arm to pull him back. "Apologise to Yamada!" she said sternly.  
  
Rin pinched the bridge of his nose. Noriko was right, of course, groaning internally. He turned to Yamada, who hadn't really reacted to anything that had transpired. "Noriko and Konekomaru are right. I went overboard and shouldn't have said what I did. I’m sorry.” He scratched his head, bemoaning his lack of tact. “Are you alright?"   
  
"It's fine." Yamada mumbled, fiddling his thumbs. The fact that he spoke at all was a surprise for everyone. "Aside from directing it at me, you were right."  
  
"What did you say?" Ryuji bristled when every single one of his classmates turned to look at him for answers. "Fine,” he huffed. “I'll prove it to you."  
  
And the idiot promptly went back into the pit, claiming that he was going to challenge the Leaper.  
  
"Oh no," Renzou said, paling as he watched Ryuji go on a suicide mission. "He's being weird."  
  
Rin shook his head. He sure hoped Renzou would show more initiative towards his Illuminati mission than he did towards his childhood friends. "So what's his deal?"  
  
"The Blue Night ruined our sect back home. Satan caused the death of most of our most revered monks" Konekomaru mumbled sadly. "The people have lost faith in our temple. Bon has been wanting to rebuild Myōō Dharani ever since he was a child, and he hopes becoming an exorcist will help him."  
  
"And it will!" Ryuji yelled back from down below, stomping towards the Leaper, with raging anger. Stopping right in front of the demon, he straightened his posture and declared with pride: "I will defeat Satan!"  
  
Oh. Huh. Rin blinked. He raised his hand to cover his mouth in utter bewilderment. Ryuji wanted to defeat Satan? Defeat Rin's father? A guy like that? A demon stronger than Rin, a Nephilim who was beating Ryuji whilst in a flawed substitute body. Stronger than even Lucifer, the Commander of the Illuminati and most powerful of the Demon Kings.  
  
"Ha," Rin said, a mere whisper, his face splitting in a crazed smirk. He leaned forward, hugging his stomach, buckling his knees. He had barely enough control of himself to remain upright.  
  
And he laughed.   
  
His eyes teared up with mirth, and his laughter was loud enough to muffle Izumo's, who had started laughing just seconds before him. Rin choked on his laughs, snorting and shrieking. Ryuji defeating the power of the Blue Flame, a power Rin himself in his own body couldn't stop from hurting anyone?  
  
That wasn't even funny anymore, it was pitiful. So very pitiful he had no choice but to laugh at it. 

And if that made Shiemi look at him with a hurt expression, well, he’d deal with that later, when he wasn’t so thoroughly amused.  
  
Rin hadn’t been paying attention to anything in his surroundings, but Konekomaru's yell snapped him out of it. "Bon- No!"  
  
Rin froze on the spot. Shit. The mission. Assimilate. Gain intel. The Myōō Dharani sect was important, somehow, and Ryuji was one of his limited access point.

He growled. Before he even properly registered what was going on Rin jumped off the edge, right between Ryuji and the charging Leaper.  
  
Landing was painful for his knees, but Rin ignored the pain in favour of looking the Leaper straight into its eyes, moving hand to the hover at side of the Leaper's head.  
  
The Leaper immediately stopped, right before Rin. Its eyes were like disks, terrified for its life as it was shaking in front of a Nephilim demon king.  
  
Rin was seething. He turned away from the cowering demon and snarled at Ryuji, who had tripped and sat on the ground, stunned. "You absolute punk idiot!" he yelled, patting the nose of the Leaper to calm the poor creature down. "This demon could have killed you, and then what of your ambition?"  
  
Ryuji roared when he found his voice back. "Don’t you pretend to sympathise. You fucking laughed at it!"  
  
"Yeah, and a lot more people will!" Rin grabbed Ryuji by his shirt and lifted him up, surprising the guy. "With a goal like that? People will laugh. They'll mock you and ridicule you. Is that going to stop you?"  
  
"Of course no-!"  
  
"Then stop seeking validation from strangers, because they won't give it to you." Rin spat on the ground, feeling something slimy get stuck in his throat. He coughed. "And you better start taking me seriously as well." He gave a final shake, then dropped Ryuji, who remained standing. "Got that?"  
  
Ryuji breathed heavily through his nose, calming down. "Yeah, yeah." He had the decency to look embarrassed, at least.  
  
Rin hissed and walked ahead to the ladder, once again climbing it. But he had noticed something was wrong with him. The moment he reached the top, he ignored Renzou and Noriko who were fuzzing over him and heaved, coughing up a couple specks of blood.  
  
Shiemi shrieked, for the first time this hour actively letting herself be known as part of the group. "Rin!"  
  
Just from letting those few drops of blood spill he felt better and he straightened his posture. Rin waved the worried hands off of him and grimaced, remembering Michael's words. Even that tiny bit of demonic strength he had used was enough to damage this synthetic body to the point of coughing up blood. What a disappointment.  
  
Rin grinned sheepishly at his classmates. "Demon attack when I was young. Gave me a mashou and this handy thing that happens once in a while."  
  
"Damn," Renzou shook his head in sympathy - well, faked-sympathy. Rin sure that the only reason he was looking down was to avoid showing people how hard he had to try to keep a straight face and not burst into laughter.  
  
If the lie served anything, it was that Ryuji seemed to feel extra bad about his actions.  
  
They were all scolded by Tsubaki, who apparently hadn’t noticed the blood, and they were sent back to their dormitories.

Feigning exhaustion, Rin waved at everyone, and headed back without changing or waiting up for Nemu.

It had been a rather eventful day, but Rin appeared to have earned Ryuji's limited respect, judging from the nod he had gotten when they parted ways, and that just about made up for the scolding he was about to receive from Michael, after he had informed them about the internal damage he had sustained.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ryuji was angery.
> 
> I had a rough couple weeks so I ended up writing some one-shots and fleshing out this story.
> 
> As you can see, I updated the tags quite a bit.  
> I did not intend for this story to become romantic and will still keep it to a minimum, and it will not change that much nor will it be very explicit/obvious. Rin is Rin, after all. 
> 
> This story is now set to having (at least) 20 chapters. I have sketched/planned out the entire story as of now, so you can be assured that this AU will be finished *cough*.


	5. The Naberius

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hehe, it's still april right?

They were exhausted. The stress and the heat was visible on their foreheads, dripping down slowly in steady salty rivers. A headache was creeping up on them, forcing them to close their eyes to keep the room from spinning.

"We're dead, aren't we?" Renzou solemnly whispered. He stumbled when he tried to get up, shooting a pained look at Rin, who wasn't doing so hot himself. His face fell at the sight. "I'm sorry."

Rin shook his head, tears threatening to spill from his eyes. "You shouldn't have to apologise... This isn't your fault."

"Even so," Renzou sighed. The shadows of the afternoon accented his burned out and pale features. "I could have done better."

They were lying on the floor together, incapable of standing up - let alone moving.

"I do have to wonder," Renzou said, and shakily he gasped a large chug of air that sounded like it would be his last. "Satou..."

"Yes?" Rin asked, desperate to stay awake long enough to hear his friend's final words.

"I kind of understand why I’m here, but what about you? I thought you'd nail every exam with ease!"

A pause stretched on for a couple seconds, during which neither of the boys dared to say a word.

With one raised eyebrow, Rin huffed and turned away from his friend. He supposed Renzou's indignation was justified. Up to this point Rin had been confident in his ability - his memory and luck at remembering the right things at the right time - but nothing could have prepared him for this.

Konekomaru looked at the two from his spot on the long mot-eaten couch. They were in the sitting room of the abandoned dorm, where they would all be staying for the remainder of their exams. "To be honest, I expected this spectacle from Shima --" (He ignored Renzou's indignant wail of "Koneko, so cruel!"). "But I did not think Satou, of all people, would be this dramatic about the exams."

Rin glared at him, but Konekomaru's face betrayed nothing of his mocking tone and remained painstakingly innocent.

He was right, anyway.

Rin felt miserable.

For all the times he had complained about the pain Lucifer had put him through, Rin quite preferred that over the horror of the first exams in their exorcist career. Not that he could voice the comparison, nor bemoan that this had been his first exam - ever! - so Rin settled on whimpering pathetically and curling up in a ball on the ground, seeing no other option.

"Geez," Ryuji sneered, playfully. "You'd think he failed."

Rin didn't doubt that as a fact. Resigned to his imagined fate he pointedly looked away with a sniff. He was certain he hadn't passed a single test, there was no other way. Rin couldn't recall a single question when his classmates had begun discussing their answers, his mind horrendously blank.

Rin snorted out a loud, fake sob.

He should have studied harder. Lucifer was going to be so disappointed in him when he would have to return for the stupid reason of having dropped out.

"Well," said Konekomaru with a smile, "at least he's having fun."

Izumo didn't share the sentiment. Hunching over Rin she got close up in his face. "What is with you? Acting like a big-shot up to this point, only to be floored by measly tests." Straightening herself, she flipped her pigtails off her shoulder. "You're pathetic," she snapped loudly.

Rin agreed. This was punishment, he thought, for bragging so much. Never again would he fall for such a false sense of security.

(Yeah, he didn't really believe that, either).

With a flustered face, Shiemi flailed her arms around, trying to cheer the two boys up. "I'm sure it will be fine, Rin!" She said. "You're very smart, so it probably isn't as bad as you're thinking."

If Renzou felt bad to be left out from the encouragement, he didn't show it.

"I'm dying," said Rin thoughtfully, coming to the realisation with sudden clarity. "There is no other explanation."

"What a loser," Izumo murmured and walked straight for Noriko. "I feel disgusting," she announced, as if it were a very important fact that everyone needed to know about. "Let's go get a bath."

"Ah!" Shiemi perked up. "Then, could I join you?"

Immediately, Rin rolled further away and faced the wall. He faintly noticed how Renzou had done the same, albeit less subtlety and with a visible shudder to accompany his move.

Rin felt bad for Shiemi - he did, really -, but he did not think getting in between another spat would do either of them any good. Though, to be completely honest, he really just did not want to be involved anymore. The thought hit him square in his gut, and he cringed at himself.

Oblivious to Rin's internal struggle - or completely uncaring, which was just as likely - Izumo huffed. "I'd rather you didn't see me naked, actually." No matter how polite she formed her words, Rin - and everyone else - could hear the not-so-well-hidden laugh. "If you're my friend, you'd understand."

"Izumo," Rin growled, sitting up despite himself. "Knock it off."

She merely hmm'ed at him, fully aware of what she was doing, and happy to accept the consequences. "Let's go, Paku." Izumo grabbed her friend's arm and, without another word, she pulled the reluctant girl along, closing the door behind them.

Rin jumped on his feet. "I can't believe her sometimes," he grumbled. He smiled sheepishly at Shiemi, whose expression was unreadable. "I'm really sorry she's being so awful. I wish I knew what her deal was..." he trailed off.

Rin did know what her deal was, though. Lost mother, lost sister, having to grow up as a suspicious girl after a traumatic event -- all of that. Rin couldn't very well say that, of course, nor did he think it would make Izumo's actions excusable.

Shiemi startled, as if what transpired had suddenly caught up with her, and managed to look downright ashamed.

Rin didn't blame her, but before he could steer the conversation to another topic, she shook her head. "Ah, no, no. It's fine," she said with a watery smile. "I suppose I was the last one to arrive and I must be barging in on --"

"That is no excuse," Yukio said, for the first time actively making his presence known.

Rin paled. He had forgotten the teacher - (his twin, he thought. How weird it still was to suddenly be aware of having one) - was there to begin with. Just how invisible was that guy?

Yukio was obviously going to say more, but he was interrupted by Renzou. "It's alright, Moriyama," he winked and leered at her. "You may always bathe with us - or, rather, just me."

Ryuji swatted him over his head with his neat pile of paper filled with hand-written notes and summaries. "Don't listen to him," he said, with a haughty air of disapproval. "He's a disappointment to all monks."

Taking into account all Rin knew about Renzou's sect - even if it was not much - he was inclined to agree with Ryuji.

Before another silence could fill the room after Shiemi's awkward laugh, Rin stretched. "I'm gonna cook up some food for everyone tonight, so I'm gonna check the kitchen here. Anyone have any preferences? Allergies?"

"Bad idea," someone deadpanned. "The kitchen is haunted."

Had Rin not see Yukio's lips move with his own eyes, he would have downright laughed at anyone who dared suggest it had been the stoic teacher who had spoken those words.

Rin clearly was not the only one, as no one dared to make a sound for a good half-a-minute until Rin blinked. "Excuse me?"

Yukio had an exasperated smile on his face, as if he himself could not really believe it. "This dorm's kitchen is haunted by an Ukobach. It won't allow anyone to cook in there."

Rin huffed, theatrically pushing his chest out like a preening peacock. "I have accepted the challenge."

Yukio met his gaze with a deadly serious expression. "If the result of your meddling is that I no longer will be able to get food from this kitchen, you may consider yourself expelled."

Even Ryuji paled at that. A heavy silence filled the room once more and the ones closest to Yukio tried to shuffle away from him.

"Holy shit..." Rin breathed, walking backwards out of the sitting room, never breaking eye-contact with Yukio. He grabbed the sword he had placed against the wall before the exam and hugged it when he stepped through the entrance. When he finally closed the doors, he blinked. "Holy shit."

He headed for the cafeteria and kitchen to - hopefully - appeal to the Ukobach's good nature. No one joined him, and Rin figured that his peers would do everything in their power to avoid both the kitchen and their teacher until both were deemed safe.

Entering the cooking-area in all its spotless glory, Rin nervously chuckled, put his sword back against another wall to appear non-threatening and waved his hand. "Sorry to disturb you," he began, his voice cracked at the end. What a moment to let puberty get a hold of him. He coughed. "If you could come out? I want to use the kitchen."

Perhaps he should have asked more tactfully, because mere moments after he had spoken he was jumped from behind by a monkey-like creature, albeit it a purple one.

"Argk-!" Rin struggled to grab the Ukobach by reaching behind him. He let out a squeal when the demon put its claws in Rin's back, right where he had his tail curled up around him.

Blinded by his instinctive reaction to a supposed threat, Rin growled and threw the Ukobach on the ground the moment he had grabbed a hold of it. Immediately, he restricted the little creature's movement and twisted its tail in response to the unwarranted assault.

The Ukobach screeched loudly in pain and glared daggers at Rin when he had calmed down.

Releasing the demon, Rin threw his hands in the air in a mock-surrender. "Well what did you expect?" Rin blurted out accusingly, gesturing vaguely to himself. "Jumping people like that, it's scary!"

Well -- startling, rather, but semantics where never his strong suit. Rin shook his head and held out his hand reluctantly. "Truce?"

The demon chirped, offended. Scrambling on its feet, it snarled at Rin before jumping on a counter. Fixing Rin with a glare, it folded its arms and stomped its foot in irritation, ignoring the intended handshake.

Rin got the distinct feeling he was being scolded.

Putting on his best polite smile, Rin calmly negotiated with the Ukobach. All Rin wanted, he said, was to occasionally use the kitchen for meals together with all the Exwires. (He suspected the group would return here in the future at some point, maybe during another exam period. He suppressed a shudder.)

No, he was not actively going to use the kitchen, chase him away or take over its position as head-chef. And yes, he would clean up his own mess as well as clean the entirety of the room after he was done.

In the end, the arrangement was all terribly one-sided in the Ukobach's favour, but Rin was not going to complain. He only rarely needed to use the large space, anyway.

Rin would never complain about the strict cooks at the base ever again after having met the Ukobach. When he felt the room with his sword back securely tied on his back, he childishly made a face at the demon, only earning himself a bump on his forehead where the utensil the Ukobach had thrown had hit him.

He checked his watch, already aware it was far too early to start preparations. Knowing everyone would have long escaped the sitting room with the less-than-stable teacher of theirs, he resigned himself to wandering the building until he would find someone.

Rubbing his forehead, Rin grabbed his phone while he walked. He texted a quick 'I hate exams and Ukobachs' to Lucifer, hoping against his better judgment that his brother would take pity on him.

Completely forgetting about his surroundings, it should have come to no surprise to Rin that he bumped into someone. Caught off guard anyway, he tripped, falling backwards on the floor and dropping his phone a few inches away from him.

Rin took comfort in the thought that the other person had fallen as well, until he realised that the cry that had come from them was a familiar high-pitched squeal.

"Ah, shit," Rin fumbled around in the pile of fabric he had found himself in, straightening the sword on his back so it would stop painfully poking him. "My bad, Shiemi, I wasn't looking where I was going." Snatching his phone back and turning it off, he finally stood up and moved to help Shiemi as well.

Shiemi chuckled, surprisingly already back in good spirits. "It's alright," she assured him, taking his hand. "I was carrying too much to see anything myself."

Rin took a good look and saw that Shiemi had indeed been carrying an obscene amount of dirty laundry, judging by some questionable stains. He pocketed his phone and collected it all in his arms. "Let me help you!" he beamed.

Shiemi had attempted, but failed, to take some load off of Rin and carry some things herself. Startled, she shook her head. "But you're busy!" she argued. "You are already cooking dinner for everyone!"

Rin blinked and grinned, which Shiemi could not see with his face obscured by the laundry. Instead, he laughed. "I'm not doing anything right now," he assured her, and started walking in the direction Shiemi had originally be going in. "The kitchen is secured, though," he said. "Meaning Yukio won't expel me."

"Ah," Shiemi exclaimed, distracted from pulling at Rin's pile in order to hold on to a few socks at the very least. "Congratulations!" she exclaimed happily.

Rin thought she looked too cheerful to be told that congratulating someone for that was not really the norm.

Together they walked to the laundry room, where Shiemi expertly operated the out-dated washer and ushered Rin over. "You can drop it in now," she said, finishing the rest up in comfortable silence.

Rin was glad she was there to do everything, as he had never had to do the laundry before in his life. Never had a reason to, either, with how often he just simply burned through his clothes.

"There!" Shiemi exclaimed, startling Rin out of his musings. "These will be all clean in no-time!"

Rin beamed and cheered with her. "You're a great help," he said. "Thanks!"

Shiemi blushed and again shook her head. "It's the one thing I can do for everyone, after all."

Rin carelessly waved it off. "It's a whole lot more than what - say, Renzou - is doing."

Shiemi clasped her hands in front of her mouth, as if she had been the one to say it. "That's incredibly rude and mean, Rin!"

Rin shrugged and rolled his eyes, the corners of his lips twitched upwards. An idea hit him. "Hey, while we’re on the subject," he began.

Shiemi raised her hand and cut him off. "Look, no," she said. To her credit, her voice only stammered a bit. "I know this is about Kamiki, and I get it. I am not completely blind," she sounded a whole lot less confident when she fidgeted with her thumps and ended with a weak: "I think..." She shook her head like a dog. "I will be fine!" she proclaimed.

Rin blinked, caught off guard by the resolute statement. With a kind smile, he nodded. "Alright. I'll let it go."

Shiemi blushed, obviously having surprised herself too. She handled it gracefully, though, by beaming once more. "Right!"

Rin held the door for her open. "Let's go find the others," he suggested. Shiemi ended up enthusiastically following him, so he counted it as a win.

Desperate not to let their search be conducted in complete silence, Rin stuttered out the first topic that came to mind: "So, looking forward to tonight's dinner?" Food. Of course. Rin should pat himself on the back for that one.

Shiemi did not seem to notice the heavy air that seemed to suffocate Rin. "Definitely!" she said. "My grandmother usually cooked, so my mom and I aren't that great at it," she confessed. She suddenly got really flustered. "Ah! Not to pressure you, or anything! I'm not expecting anything big, I promise!"

Rin laughed in her face. "Don't worry! And you bet it's going to be big. Or at least, I will try to fancy it up a bit. If I had wanted something grand I really should have started already," he trailed off.

Shiemi smiled in response, a bit unsure.

Rin turned to look at her again. He still worried about Lucifer’s response to his exam-results, despite knowing it was unwarranted. The topic did continue to waltz around in the back of his head, though, which brought with it another idea. He had been meaning to get information from Shiemi, but he did wonder how far he could push before she would be suspicious.

Rin figured he may as well just get her to talk about what he needed to know herself. "'Sides, I bet you're both busy." He paused when Shiemi looked at him quizzically. "With the exorcist shop and all," he elaborated.

Shiemi's eyes widened, and she nodded vigorously. "I guess that's true. Every exorcist of the Japanese branch gets their supplies from us, after all."

Rin's smile was disingenuous, but he doubted Shiemi would be able to catch that. "Every single one of them?"

"Yep!" Shiemi said proudly.

"Oh, but then," Rin began, slowing down. He painted a nearly perfect expression of an excited fan on his face. "You must have met the Paladin himself!"

Maybe the fact that Rin did not feel bad about exploiting the naive girl for information was what actually made him feel bad, in the end.

His mission was to find out whatever he could about True Cross' experiments. Lucifer made sure that Rin would not forget by asking him for a report every night.

Rin had long since concluded that, aside from Samael, the Paladin - Shiro Fujimoto - had to know the most about these things. They were self-proclaimed friends, after all.

And as it turned out, the herbalist shop of the Moriyama's seemed to be the epicentre of exorcist activity, rivalled by True Cross HQ only.

Unknowingly confirming his suspicions, Shiemi nodded, appearing exasperated and shy altogether. "I met him. He is Yuki's father, after all." She sneaked a look at Rin, who just in time fabricated his expression as genuinely friendly as he could muster. He knew that it did the trick the moment she looked away, embarrassed.

"When my grandmother died," she said softly, "he and Yuki came to check on me. A-A demon in my grandmother's garden had latched on to my legs as a parasite, because I was too distraught after the accident."

Rin held his breath, listening too intently to interrupt her in any way. She did not seem bothered by his lack of comforting and carried on, her voice strong.

"I think Yuki wanted to exorcise the demon right there and then, but Father Fujimoto did not. Instead he offered me a piece of paper," Shiemi fumbled in her pockets and held her summoning paper out to Rin.

Rin took it, if only to appear as if he was curious about what was on it. In truth, however, he had already seen the basic summoning circle more than often enough to know it by heart. "He made you do the Tamer test?" he asked.

Shiemi nodded, accepting the paper back and put it away. "Yes, and Nee came out for me." She smiled ruefully. "That made the demon in my grandmother's garden upset, though." She looked away and Rin knew she was absorbed in her own memory. "When I woke up, the demon was gone and Father Fujimoto suggested I become an exorcist like Yuki. And, well, here I am," she finished lamely. She blushed. "S-Sorry! You only asked if I met the Paladin and I went and ran my mouth --!"

"A Greenman," Rin said thoughtfully, deliberately interrupting her to keep her on track. "You must really care for your gran's garden."

Shiemi blinked. "I do," she sighed. Breaking into a smile, not unlike how the sun breaks through a line of dark clouds, she grabbed Rin's hands. "You should come over once!" she offered, happily. "I will show you the garden, a-and the shop, too! Or maybe not… Eh - I mean, as an exorcist, you will see it a lot, I-I guess, so I understand if you don't --"

"I'd love to!" Rin grabbed the opportunity with both hands, both literally and figuratively, and he friendly squeezed Shiemi's. "Thanks Shiemi!"   
  
"Un!" Shiemi nearly bounced in excitement. "Then, can we be friends?"

Rin blinked, taken aback by her bluntness. He could not believe earning the trust of such an influential person would be just that easy. He once again squeezed Shiemi's hands with a wide grin, a real one, as he was closer to his mission's goal than before. "Of course!"

Shiemi pulled her hands back shyly, the consequences of her actions finally dawning on her. "I'm glad," she said, and continued to walk on.

After a few minutes they had to admit they still had not found a trace of their classmates (just how scary was Yukio?) and were ready to give up their search. Rin was about to ask if Shiemi would like to help him in the kitchen instead (“Though it depends on Ukobach’s approval”), when a loud scream pierced through the hallway.

"That sounded like Kamiki!" Shiemi said, horrified.

Rin did not hesitate for even a second and sprinted through the halls straight for the girls' bathroom, where he hoped the two girls still were. Uncaring about accidentally stumbling in on indecency, he opened the door forcefully.

Rin was momentarily at a loss about what happened. Noriko lied on the ground with horrific burns and boils covering her skin. Izumo had summoned her foxes, but instead of towards the threat, they were baring their fangs at the trembling girl.

The assailant was a two-headed Naberius, which was currently charging towards Rin.

Drawing the sword given to him by Lucifer, Rin stood at the ready. Using it to shield himself and simultaneously redirect the force from the Naberius to both his arms. He grunted at Izumo between his teeth, taken aback by the weakness of his humanoid host. "Tear the paper already!"

Rin did not check if Izumo had listened to him and titled his weight to his left. The Naberius, which had aggressively kept pushing against the teen, stumbled to the right.

Clumsily recovering from the momentum, Rin took advantage of the demon's disorientation to swing his sword at its side.

The Naberius howled in frustration at its injury and twisted one of its arms, with the intent of slamming Rin out of its way.

This worked only partially in the demon's favour, as Rin took the decision of using a bit of his demonic strength.

Stepping forward right before he was struck, Rin stabbed his sword in the Naberius' back. When the Naberius hit Rin, who was sent back quite a bit with a forming bruise to his abdomen, the sword embedded in its back like a leverage, which caused the demon to retreat as well.

Unintentionally freeing the entrance of the changing room, Rin vaguely registered Shiemi hurrying inside. She only hesitated for a second when she glimpsed at Rin, before coming to the correct conclusion that there was nothing she could do, and ran straight towards Noriko and Izumo instead.

Trusting her to take care of them, Rin refocused on the Naberius, which looked at him oddly.

"Your grace, " the Naberius gasped, aware that only Rin and the summoned Greenman was capable of understanding it. "We wish you no harm or ill intent. We must only obey. Allow us to just leave this room!"

Rin snarled. Regaining his balance, he swung his blade again at the demon. He deliberately aimed for places where the demon could easily block his strikes. He made eye-contact and hoped the Naberius would catch the hint and elaborate.

But when realisation bled through the demon's body language, and before it could explain itself further, it froze when Izumo screeched loudly. "T-The Paladin!"

Rin's eyes widened and stammered in his block, crashing against the lockers from the blunt force of the Naberius' arm.

The demon wasted no time to check whether or not Izumo had identified the new addition to its enemies, and hurried off via the vent it had seemingly entered through before.

Rin remained where he was, his breath wheezing from that last blow he hadn't blocked correctly.

"Tch. It got away," an unknown voice said. Rin glared in the direction of the sound through his pained expression and saw a greying man sporting a generic priest attire. He appeared annoyed that the Naberius had gotten away when Izumo had alerted it of his presence.

(Izumo must really be out of it to have made such a rookie mistake).

Rin's eyes widened. He recognized the man from the documents he had gotten from Lucifer. He really was the Paladin - Father Shiro Fujimoto.

Father Fujimoto turned away from the vent with another scowl and faced Rin, who had slumped to the ground after the Naberius had left.

The Paladin approached him, a kind smile on his aged face. "Hey kid," he said, "you alright?"

Rin blinked, allowing his breath to escape. "Yeah," he said, his voice rough. Embarrassed, he coughed to get rid of it. "I'm fine. Thanks, Father."

Fujimoto snorted. "Now if only all kiddos were respectful," he began solemnly, but then he got a goofy grin on his face. "Then I'd be out of a job!" The man's laugh was loud and teasing, but not mocking.

Rin immediately understood why the man was simultaneously popular as well as despised amongst his colleagues.

Suddenly, Rin sat up straight and paled, wincing from his bruised ribs. "Noriko!" he blurted out, earlier having forgotten about the injured girl. "Is she okay? The Naberius--!"

"Hey, hey," Father Fujimoto hushed him, placing a calming hand on his shoulder. "Shiemi did a good job with first aid, so Miss Paku will be alright. See, she's being carried off now."

And sure enough, when Rin looked he saw medics carry Noriko away, aloe covering her burns and boils.

Rin sighed, relieved, recognizing the plant as effective against the miasma of a Naberius. He also caught a glimpse of Yukio, who was obviously praising a blushing and stammering Shiemi. Rin did not find a trace of Izumo, however, which did little to lessen his worry for the girl.

Father Fujimoto squeezed his shoulder. Rin turned to look at him again.

The man smiled a bit sheepishly. "I asked if you needed medical attention. Sheesh, my son was right, you have a terrible attention-span."

Rin sputtered, denying it even before he realised what he was doing, which only served to amuse the Paladin further. "No," he finally said, slowly standing up. "Just some bruises from slamming into lockers," he grinned. "I think I did more damage to them than they to me."

Father Fujimoto barked out another loud laugh. "Too right you are, kid!" He patted Rin on the back. "Off you go, then."

Rin nodded and walked away from the Paladin, already feeling a lot better after his little breather. He glanced back to see that the man had joined Yukio and Shiemi, the latter's shade immediately turning bright red again.

Poor girl.

Rin took it upon himself to look for Izumo, whilst pondering over his earlier encounter.

So that had been the Paladin, the one Rin needed to somehow get some information out of.

Rin immediately classified it as an impossible task. He would have to inform Lucifer about that. The man, despite his jovial demeanour, was too scarily observant and tactical for Rin to come too close. Sure, he could try to appear ambitious or curious, or both, but that would only get him so far without drawing suspicion.

Rin mentally catalogued the topic as 'to be reviewed at earliest convenience' and proceeded to think about something else.

The Naberius.

It was clearly acting under orders. Orders that included instructions. Instructions that has specifically included the demon to go to the dormitory where all Exwires currently were, and not to kill any of the students.

The first was the simplest explanation. Had the demon merely been looking for something, it would have done so when there were the fewest amount of potential witnesses.

As for the second pointer, Rin knew from experience that neither Noriko nor Izumo could have walked (or been carried) away as relatively unharmed as they were, had the Naberius been sent to kill.

Rin glanced behind a set of lockers, but found no trace of Izumo. He sighed and continued his search and pondering.

So the Naberius had been sent there to look for something -- or someone -- specific. Something -- or someone -- that was uniquely in this building at this very moment.

Sobbing pulled him away from his musings, and Rin silently followed it to its source.

Izumo was curled up in a corner at the end of the room, stuffed in a space between the lockers and a wall, completely hidden from view from the entrance. She was still dressed in her undergarments.

"Don't stare, idiot," she spat, though the effect was lost with tears streaming down her face. "I look like shit."

Rin hmm'ed. He had a feeling Izumo's misery had little to do with her appearance. Making a sudden decision, one he regretted a moment after having moved, Rin took off his shirt and tossed it over Izumo.

It was fortunate that she took ages to register what had happened as Rin had to hurry and tuck his tail -- quite literally -- between his legs.

Rin hurried to wrap the tail tightly around his knee, wincing at how it cut off the blood flow due to the constriction. He looked down and barely stopped himself from gasping for air.

Around his hips and on his stomach were splotches of decay clearly visible. Awkwardly, Rin pulled his sweatpants further up in order to obscure it. An achievement he contributed to his quick reflexes alone, as his mind was currently stressing over what the discovery meant.

Before he could bemoan just how little demonic strength he had used and yet to be met with such dire consequences, Izumo seemed to have gotten over her stupor.

"T-This shirt is dirty!"

Rin gave her a look. "Well, yeah, duh? I just fought the Naberius."

Izumo went quiet, and looked away. She proceeded to put on the shirt and make herself scarce without so much as another sound.

"Oy-ah?" A newcomer beamed through the quieting room, way too cheerful for the situation. "My, what a mess, what a mess."

Rin rolled his eyes when he turned to see the flamboyant appearance of Samael. It was that Rin knew that beneath the cheerful persona of the man a chaotic demon King of Time was hidden, otherwise he would not even have considered taking him seriously.

"Mephisto!" Father Fujimoto exclaimed joyfully. Had Rin not been watching carefully, he would have assumed that the presence of Samael was welcome to the Paladin.

The momentary darkening of Fujimoto's eyes had told him differently, however.

"Why, Shiro!" Samael said, just as happily - with the exception that his own amusement was likely to be genuine. "Back so soon? I did not expect you to return until quite late."

"Something came up," Fujimoto waved him off easily. "I'll discuss the report with you tonight." The Paladin levelled Rin and Shiemi. He paused when he saw Rin shirtless, but it seemed that he really did not want to deal with teenage drama on top of everything else that was the mess he had found himself in. "How about you guys go to your classmates? They were quite worried when I left them."

Recognizing a dismissal as if it was second nature - which it was, actually - Rin nodded and moved together with Shiemi, ushering her out.

He ignored her high-pitched "W-What happened to your shirt?" and quickly glanced back once more.

Yukio stood with his father and Samael, appearing incredible uncomfortable judging by his stiff stance. Rin was certain that the painful grimace on his twin's face was fabricated annoyance to hide another emotion.

Probably guilt.

It was at that moment that all became quite clear to Rin.

The Naberius had attacked because Father Fujimoto was specifically supposed to have been away from the premise today on a regular routine mission, going by what Samael had said when he saw the Paladin.

The Naberius had attacked the building specifically because of one constant factor that was present here -- Okumura Yukio, who was alleged to be the only Seraphim spawn of Satan.

A fact that hardly anyone knew of. No one, supposedly, other than the Illuminati, Yukio, the Paladin and Samael.

Except for the fact that someone else seemed to have become aware of it as well.

A talented Tamer who had wanted to get rid of Yukio, uncaring of collateral damage as long as there were no casualties.

The realisation nearly knocked the breath out of his lungs and made him stammer. His tail tensed up and constricted his leg, causing him to stumble and limp in the next few steps.

Shiemi gasped loudly and grabbed him by his arm, forgetting her shyness in her worry. "Rin!" she squeezed tightly. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Rin managed a smile, straightening himself by leaning with both hands on Shiemi's arm and shoulder. "Thanks."

Rin paled when he noticed his pants slide down a tiny bit, remembering why he had held onto it in the first place.

To make matters worse for him, from the corner of his vision Rin saw Samael look at him.

Hastily, he pulled his pants over the corruption on his stomach in order to quickly hide it from view.

Rin felt dread crawl up his spine.

Judging from the demon's Cheshire grin, Rin had not succeeded in shielding the decay from Samael's perceptive eyes.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm truly sorry for the late update. I hope this chapter somewhat makes up for it.

**Author's Note:**

> All your support is greatly appreciated! Really, I treasure every kudo/bookmark and comment so much.
> 
> If you want, you may always hit me up on [Tumblr](https://nighttjar.tumblr.com/). (In fact, I would love that, really. Talk to me about AoEx, your favourite character, or your cat.)


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